Club Notes 2016

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WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 3rd JANUARY 2016

Well we moved into 2016 and weather wise it looks like more of the same, wind and rain seems to be very much part of our daily life over the last couple of months but in fairness we have got off lightly compared to other parts of the country. Well let's hope the weather picks up for next weekend as all our teams look to get a stop/start season back up and running. The executive committee would like to take this opportunity to wish all our teams the very best of luck in the remainder of the season.The committee would like to wish all our club members, managers, assistant managers, coaches, parents and supporters a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year, we hope 2016 is good to you all. Also everyone at the club would like to wish all our friends in sport a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2016.Our next Last Man Standing competition will commence on the weekend of the 23rd of January. Anyone interested in taking part should contact any committee member, you can also enter through the same channel as you did for previous LMS competitions, alternatively you can contact Jimmy Nolan at 087-9108706. It is advisable to get your name registered asap as fixtures for the first week of the competition will be texted out on Monday the 18th of January, same rules apply in the competition. The prize fund will be €500, the registration fee for the competition is €10 and must be paid prior to the start of the competition. Also it’s advised to have your registration in on or before Wednesday the 20th of January. See club website at lt www.wicklowrovers.com for a full list of the rules.The club are currently still looking to obtain a defibrillator, with the help of a club member we have availed of a great opportunity to obtain a defibrillator from a first aid provider. If the club can collect 300 old mobile phones we will be given a defibrillator in exchange for the old phones. We are now not too far away from reaching the total required so the club would be grateful if people would donate their old unwanted phones to this worthy cause. So if Santa brought you a new phone and your looking to recycle your old phone why not donate it to the club for this worthy cause so we can avail of this offer for an important piece of equipment. Anyone interested in donating any old phones can contact any of the following by texting or ringing to organise collection or drop off, ohn Frazer 087-0564394; Jimmy Nolan 087-9108706; Rob Free 085-8153424; Paul Delaney 086-3700320; Franny Copeland 087-7589332; Johnny Dunne 087-7802098; Jason Harris 086-2516731;Willie O'Brien 086-1696911 and Mandy O’Neill 087-7924649.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy resumes this Saturday morning the 9th of January [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coach Johnny Dunne. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 10th JANUARY 2016

Well at long last we are starting to see a bit of action on the playing field in our junior section, Saturday morning saw our under 12A's record an excellent 4-0 home win over Ashford Rovers A. We had four different goalscorers on the day, Conor Hunter slammed home his eighth goal of the season, Mark Hodgkinson nabbed one to make it four for the campaign while his cousin Tom Hodgkinson fired in his second of the season. Calum Gibney notched his first goal of the season to complete a very good day at the office to get their 2016 off to the perfect start. The action continued when our under 13A's entertained Ashford Rovers under 13's, both these teams have been moved up to the under 14 premier league due to lack of teams at their own age group. The lads have now made it two wins from two in the higher age group when they recorded an 8-2 victory. A well taken hat-trick from the now leading goalscorer Sam Brown to make it 13 for the season paved the way for this win, Connor Lewins added a brace to give him 3 for the campaign with Max Kearney nabbing his tenth of the season with a single. Mark O'Brien scored his second of the season with Harry Hodgkinson completing the eight goal haul with his first of the season in a good all round team performance. The 13B's continued the winning streak on Saturday for our junior sides when they travelled to Arklow and came back with all three points in a 4-2 win over Arklow Town B, the lads found themselves behind at the break but showed great character to battle back in the second period. Ben Free won his side a penalty which was duly dispatched to the net by Conor Leonard. Ben Free then turned goalscorer when he fired home to level the game. Rovers then sprung under 12 player Conor Hunter off the bench and he proved to be the hero of the hour when he hit the back of the net twice to claim all three points for the lads. The 16A's finished off what was a good day for our junior sides winning 10-1 at home to Arklow United to make it 4 wins from 4 games today. The highlight of this game was two well taken hat-tricks, leading scorer Stephen Finlay took his tally for the campaign to 14 with one of the hat-tricks and Luca Rampersaud hit the other hat-trick to make it 8 for him this season. Stuart Cox hit a brace [13], with Ronan Murray notching a single for his sixth of the season. Dean Noble completed the ten goal haul when he fired home his first goal of the season. The lads have now won all seven league games to date.Sunday saw very little action within the club with the only game beating the weather been the under 11 white teams match away to Arklow Utd, this game ended up 2-2 in what was a very exciting affair. A first goal of the season for Oliver Lawless and the second of the campaign for Ian Kavanagh proved to be crucial for the lads in gaining a well deserved point. This result keeps the lads level in the table with their opponents but crucially they have games in hand on all the teams above them which could hopefully see them have a major say in the destination of the title. All other games for the weekend including our three senior games were all called off due to the bad weather.Our next Last Man Standing competition will commence on the weekend of the 23rd of January. Anyone interested in taking part should contact any committee member, you can also enter through the same channel as you did for previous LMS competitions, alternatively you can contact Jimmy Nolan at 087-9108706. It is advisable to get your name registered asap as fixtures for the first week of the competition will be texted out on Monday the 18th of January, same rules apply in the competition. The prize fund will be €500, the registration fee for the competition is €10 and must be paid prior to the start of the competition. Also it’s advised to have your registration in on or before Wednesday the 20th of January. See club website at www.wicklowrovers.com for a full list of the rules.Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to express their sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Jim Attley who sadly passed away recently, the Attley family have been big supporters of the club over the years, our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Anne, his family and his friends at this sad time, may he rest in peace.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 17th JANUARY 2016

The intermediate team played out a 1-1 draw at home to Templeogue Utd, the lads went one up just before the break when Mark O’Sullivan fired home his first of the campaign. Rovers had the chances in the second period to put the game to bed but a mixture of poor finishing and a couple of excellent saves from the away keeper prevented Rovers increasing their lead. The away side levelled with twenty minutes remaining when they were awarded a soft penalty. After this either team could have won it but both keepers were on top of their game pulling off good saves.Saturday’s junior action was confined to cup action and we didn’t have much luck at all on Saturday, our under 11 Green team were involved in a very tight premier cup quarter final match when they entertained Aughrim Rangers Blue team in the Hockey Pitch. In a game dominated by defences it was the visitors who claimed a semi final spot with a hard earned 1-0 victory. The lads gave it their all and with a bit of luck the game could have went in their favour. Next up was our under 14A's and they were involved in an eight goal thriller at the Whitegates when they drew 4-4 with Greystones United in the quarter final of their premier cup, unluckily for the lads they made their exit from the competition losing 6-5 on penalties. On the day Matthew Ryan hit a brace to bring his tally for the season to three, all in cup action. Craig Anderson and Dylan Doyle notched their second goals of the campaign when they netted one a piece. Then it was the turn of our under 15’s who were unlucky going down narrowly to Greystones United on a 3-2 scoreline. The lads battled well in this game and it was a match that could have went either way, top scorer Ryan Murphy nabbed his fifth goal of the season with Joe Geraghty firing home his first of the campaign.On Sunday the under 11 white team went down 5-1 to league leaders Glencormac in the cup, Ben Bowen scored the Rovers goal for his third of the season, in truth the result flattered the winners a little bit as the lads had several good chances but found the keeper in inspired form. The 13B’s recorded an excellent 4-2 cup win away to Coolboy Rgrs. What made this win even better was the lads had lost 4-1 to the same opposition in the Whitegates in the league prior to Christmas. Scott Bushe nabbed a brace to make it ten for the season, Noah Sheridan fired in his seventh of the campaign with Ben Free scoring his sixth of the season to complete the scoring. Finally we had another good cup win when our 16B’s beat Avonmore 4-3 on penalties after the match ended tied at 1-1 after extra time. Top scorer Daniel Fitzsimons fired home to bring his tally to twelve for the season [6 in the league and 6 in cup action] to send this game to the dreaded shoot out. Shane Lincoln, Luke Whyte, Sean Leonard and Jack Colaluca were all successful with their spot kicks to send the lads through to the semi final. The club’s AGM will take place on Monday 22nd of February in the clubhouse meeting room at the Whitegates. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp, all members are encouraged to attend the meeting. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 sharp.The club would like to welcome Mandy O’Neill onto the executive committee, Mandy will now be in charge of the club shop, anyone seeking club gear must contact Mandy and no one else. This includes all club gear, jerseys, training tops, hoodies, shorts, socks, etc. Mandy can be contacted at 087-7924649 or by email at murphyanne5@hotmail.comOur Last Man Standing competition starts this coming Saturday the 23rd of January, if you have not registered and you are interested in taking part you should contact Jimmy Nolan at 087-9108706 asap, at this stage anyone who has registered should now have received the fixtures for week 1, if you haven’t received the fixtures for any reason you should also contact Jimmy. Full list of competition rules can be viewed on home page of club website at www.wicklowrovers.comEveryone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Jean Brown who sadly passed away recently. Her grandsons Gary (Intermediate Team) and Adam ( Under 19 Team) both play for the club, also her daughter Michelle is a big supporter of the club helping out with teas and coffees on match days over the years. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and all your family at this sad time, may she rest in peace.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDIING 24th JANUARY 2016

The intermediate team lost 2-1 away to Ballyfermot Utd on Sunday, Mark O’Sullivan scored for the second game running in what was a tight affair. Rovers were very much under strength with several players out for one reason or another. The under 19’s claimed their first points of the season with an excellent 3-0 win over Portmarnock, Adrian Gurak, Kevin O’Halloran and Mark Darragh all hit the back of the net in a good all round team performance. On Saturday in the junior section our under 11 whites raced into a two goal lead away to Rathnew yellows, a first of the season from Kacper Lepek and Ryan McConnell's eleventh of the campaign put them 2-0 up, Rathnew battled back to score three times to win the game on a 3-2 scoreline. The under 12C's lost 4-2 at home to Greystones United, this young team are coming along nicely. Aoife Caffrey and Sam Greene hit their first goals of the season in what was a good all round team performance. The 13B's were involved in a nine goal thriller with Greystones United A in the Woodlands, unluckily for the lads they lost out 5-4. Noah Sheridan brought his total for the season to nine with a brace, Ben Free has eight for the season when he fired home a brace as well. This was an entertaining game with both sides serving up some exciting football. The 13C's went down heavily to St Anthonys, the lads gave it their all but they found the opposition who recently dropped down from the premier division very tough. Our 13A's who are playing a year above themselves suffered their first defeat in the under 14 premier division when they lost 5-0 away to last years champions Shamrock Bhoys. The lads now have won two and lost one in the higher grade. Our under 14B team recorded an excellent 5-3 win over Wolfe Tone in the Whitegates, in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign these two teams gave their supporters a thriller when Wolfe Tone ran out 5-4 winners. It was more of the same Saturday but this time it was Rovers who ran out winners. Thomas O'Neill produced an excellent individual scoring feat scoring four goals in a game for the second time this season to bring his total to ten for the season. Daniel Murphy fired home the other goal for his third of the campaign. This was another exciting game and a great advert for entertaining football.On Sunday the under 11 green team recorded an excellent 5-1 win over local neighbours Wicklow Town, Louis Malcomson hit one to bring his total to three for the season, Steven Gormley also hit one to make it two for the campaign. There was also first goals of the season for three other players, Oscar Malcomson, Sam Christie and Evan Burke all hit the back of the net for the first time this season in what was a good all round team perforrmance. Our under 15's went down 6-2 at home to Greystones United, Ryan Murphy fired home two goals to bring his tally to seven in all competitions. On the day the score could have been a lot closer if the lads had taken their chances. The under 16A's dropped their first points of the season when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Avonmore, in what was a closely fought game Rovers were reduced to ten men on 45 minutes but they battled away in search of an equaliser but to no avail. Daniel Harbourne nabbed the Rovers goal for his first of the season. The 16B's drew 1-1 at home to Greystones United in a game they should have won on the balance of play. Rovers led 1-0 through Jack Colaluca's fifth goal of the season. In truth if the Rovers players had turned their chances into goals they would have won this game with a bit to spare. Several times the wrong option was taken when other players were in better positions but this is all part of the learning curve, they also rattled the post from twenty yards. They got cold with a counter attack from the away side with ten minutes remaining which left Rovers counting the cost of wasted chances.In the clubs Last Man Standing competition a massive 116 players made their exit, Everton [65], Man Utd [22],West Brom [11], Man City [7], Newcastle [4], Arsenal [4], Sunderland [2] and Bournemouth [1] all failed to win therefore causing elimination to all the players who selected them. This now leaves 46 players battling it out for the €500 prize and the title of Last Man Standing. View the selections table on the club website at www.wicklowrovers.comThe club’s AGM will take place on Monday 22nd of February in the clubhouse meeting room at the Whitegates. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp, all members are encouraged to attend the meeting. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 sharp.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 31st JANUARY 2016

Our intermediate team went down 2-0 at home to Greenhills/Greenpark FC on Sunday, in a game between two evenly matched teams it was a case of finishing your chances when they came your way. The away side had a couple of chances and they converted them while when the chances fell to Rovers we failed to tuck them away, that is the cruel reality at this level. The lads are definitely not getting the breaks in recent games, on the day Paul Alexander was outstanding at the heart of the Rovers defence.Our Saturday side entertained Tymon Celtic in the first round of the Noel Ryan cup at the Whitegates, the lads went into the game as favourites and duly obliged with a 2-0 win. Maurice Dunne put Rovers one up at the break when he fired home from the penalty spot. The away keeper pulled off a couple of excellent saves to make sure Rovers didn't extend their advantage before the break. The second half saw Rovers create the better chances and they increased their lead again from the penalty spot, this time it was Jim Foley who coolly slotted home. The lads comfortably saw out the rest of the game to book their place in round two.The under 19’s lost 4-1 away to Dunboyne FC with Riain Sweetman Burke scoring his fifth of the season.In junior action on Saturday our under 12B's suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Roundwood losing 8-1, Oran Dempsey made it five for the season with the Rovers consolation goal. The under 15's lost 6-1 to Rathnew, the lads battled through out. Ryan Murphy continued his hot streak in front of goal when he fired home his eighth goal of the season, all eight goals have been scored in the last five consecutive games. Our under 16B's produced an excellent come back as they were 3-1 down at the break away to Arklow United but a fantastic fight back saw them win 8-4, Daniel Fitzsimons plundered an excellent haul of five goals to bring his season tally to seventeen, Conor Byrne added a brace to make it seven for the campaign with Sean Coffey scoring his first of the season in what was an excellent all round team performance. Team of the weekend must go to our under 12C team, they travelled to take on Arklow Town B in the league, as we all know Arklow is always a tough place to go at the best of times, they are always hard to beat in their own backyard. It becomes even tougher when you are seeking your first points of the season. This little team started off the season made up of all girls but in recent times they have called upon one or two boys from the under 11's. They were still looking for their first draw or win up to the weekend, in their last game against Greystones United they scored their first goals of the season but Saturday it got even better. They claimed their first points of the season when they came home with all three points in a fantastic 4-2 win. Aoife Caffrey nabbed her second goal in two games, Molly Sweeney scored her first of the season with under 11 players Oscar and Louis Malcomson netting one each to record a massive win. Well done to everyone involved.Sunday’s junior action was at a minimum with the weather yet again playing havoc with the fixtures. The under 11 White team were involved in a seven goal thriller away to Enniskerry, the lads came out the right side of the thriller winning 4-3. The prolific Ryan McConnell fired home his third hat-trick of the season to bring his tally for the campaign to fourteen, a first of the season for Cormac Waldron completed the scoring and ensured Rovers took all three points back to Wicklow. This result keeps the lads in contention for the title. The under 13A's who are now competing in the under 14 Premier league are finding the going tough, they lost 6-1 away to Greystones United A and in truth at this age there is a physical difference between many of the players and that's whats the telling difference. Rovers consolation goal saw Sam Brown score his thirteenth of the season. The under 14A’s went down to a disappointing 4-0 defeat at home to Shamrock Bhoys, the difference between the two sides proved to be the Bray outfit were more clinical in front of goal and when their chances came along they made no mistakes in finishing. The club’s AGM will take place on Monday 22nd of February in the clubhouse meeting room at the Whitegates. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp, all members are encouraged to attend the meeting. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 sharp.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 7th FEBRUARY 2016

The weather was the winner again at the weekend, the only senior fixture to beat the inclement conditions was the Saturday teams game at home to Ballymun Utd. Rovers took on one of their nearest title rivals in the shape of Ballymun and recorded an excellent 3-0 win. Leading scorer Ciaran McGettigan set them on their way with the first of the game and his thirteenth of the campaign. Rikki Quinn nabbed his first of the season for Rovers second, another first of the season came from Shaun Vickers to ensure the lads claimed a very important three points and make it seven wins on the bounce in all competitions. The lads put in a good shift in an all round good team performance. The intermediate and under 19 teams games were victims of the bad weather.The only competitive game in the junior section to beat the weather was the under 13C team who lost out 4-1 away to Enniskerry, in blustery conditions the lads put in a good performance but luck didn’t go their way. Ethan Allen scored his fifth goal of the season when he fired home from the penalty spot. Our Last Man Standing competition is getting down to the business end of things, the weekend saw another 8 players exit the competition. Firstly it was the 7 poor hopefuls who were on Liverpool and thought they were in round 4 when the ‘Pool’ were 2-0 up going into the dying minutes but Sunderland had other ideas scoring twice in the last fifteen minutes to earn a 2-2 draw. One player went out when his selection Norwich went down 2-0 to bottom of the table Aston Villa. Teams that proved to be successful for their supporters were inform Tottenham whose narrow 1-0 win over Watford saw 7 players make it into round 4, a single player put their faith in the blue side of the Mersey and were rewarded when Everton continued their good run when defeating Stoke 3-0 in an impressive display. Another single player selected Southampton and he was rewarded with a place in round 4 when his selection held out with ten men after having a player sent off to beat West Ham 1-0 in Saturday’s evening game. Sunday’s lunchtime match saw the most popular choice of the weekend Arsenal defeat Bournemouth 2-0 to ensure the safe passage for 14 players which now means we are left with 23 players left to battle it out for the €500 prize. Round 4 takes place this weekend, we wish all remaining players the very best of luck in round 4 and we would like to thank everyone who participated in our Last Man Standing competition, your continuous support is very much appreciated. Our club shop was open from 11 till 1 last Saturday and we got a good response to the first day. The shop will be open on the first Saturday of every month from 11 to 1 in the clubhouse at the Whitegates. All the credit for this goes to Mandy O’Neill who has taken over the managing of the shop and on the first day was helped by Anne O’Neill and Brigid O’Reilly. All three girls did a lot of work and have to be complimented for their effort to improve all aspects of the club shop which includes the introduction of gift vouchers which will make an ideal gift for any club member, well done girls.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coach Johnny Dunne. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

The club’s AGM will take place on Monday 22nd of February in the clubhouse meeting room at the Whitegates. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp, all members are encouraged to attend the meeting. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 sharp.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 14th FEBRUARY 2016

On the senior front the intermediate team recorded an excellent 3-2 win over Leicester Celtic, finding themselves undeservingly 2-0 down midway through the second period they produced an excellent comeback to win the game. With twenty two minutes left Alan Power was brave to get an the end of a cross to steer the ball home with the keeper bearing down on him. Shortly after this we had what was probably the turning point of the game, the introduction of Ciaran McGettigan. Ciaran held the ball up well in the final third and was handful to mark. He was what the team was crying out for and with fifteen minutes left he got on the end of a great move to clinically finish to the bottom right hand corner from just inside the area to level matters. Alan Power nabbed his second when he fired home from ten yards to give the lads three valuable points and a deserving win. Our Saturday Leinster Senior team went down 2-1 away to one of their title rivals Drumcondra, this defeat brought the lads unbeaten run of seven games to an end, the good news is they still remain top of the league with the destiny of the title still in their own hands. On the night the lads battled hard, Ciaran McGettigan scored their goal and they will feel a little aggrieved that they weren't awarded at least one penalty when scorer Ciaran McGettian was fouled in the area on two occasions. The youths lost 6-2 away to St James Gate in what was their first game in what seems to be forever, Hugh Humby scored his first of the season with a goal direct from a corner with Jamie Power notching his third of the campaign from the penalty spot.Junior action on Saturday saw the under 11 white team travel to the Woodlands to take on Greystones in a top of the table clash and what a thriller they provided. In a game that saw great attacking end to end football this match had everything. Both teams struck the woodwork, both had near misses and plenty of goalmouth scrambles. Both defences and keepers displayed the excellent art of defending. In the end it was Greystones who won 2-1 with the winner coming from a cruel deflection. Both teams were a credit to their clubs and coaches, well done to everyone involved. The 12B's suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Greystones United B, in a tight encounter which Rovers could easily have got something from it just wasn't to be on the day. Our 13B's made the very short journey to Finlay Park to take on local neighbours Wicklow Town, the lads ran out comfortable 6-0 winners. Ben Free hit two goals to bring his tally to ten for the season. Under 12 player Conor Hunter turned out for the lads and he claimed a brace as well, his second brace of the season for the 13's to make it four times his hit the net for them now. Scott Bushe fired home a single to put him top of the scoring charts with eleven to his name for the season. Finally Luke Horan completed the six goal tally with his first of the campaign to give the lads three valuable points to keep them in the mix at the top of the table. The under 15’s game away to Ashford Rovs was reversed to the Whitegates due to the Ashford pitch been unplayable. In what was a close game Ashford ran out 2-1 winners with Luke Kelly getting the Wicklow goal to make it four for the season for him. Sunday’s action saw the 11A’s go down 5-2 to Newtown Juniors, Sam Greene scored both Rovers goals. The 14A’s went down to a disappointing 3-1 shield defeat to Greystones, Jack Fox claimed his first of the season in this game. The 16A’s received a walkover from Arklow Town while the 16B’s had a good 3-2 win over St Patricks with goals from Daniel Fitzsimons, Conor Byrne and Jack Colaluca.Everyone at the club would like to wish club chairman John Frazer a speedy recovery from his recent illness, we all hope to see you up and about very soon, get well soon John. With 23 players going into the weekend left in our Last Man Standing competition it was all to play for, Man Utd’s defeat to Sunderland saw 9 players go out, Everton lost at home to West Brom resulting with 4 players exiting and the same number went out when West Ham could only manage a 2-2 draw with Norwich. Six players remain left standing after Chelsea and Liverpool wins saw them through.The club’s AGM will take place on Monday 22nd of February in the clubhouse meeting room at the Whitegates. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp, all members are encouraged to attend the meeting. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 sharp.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 21st FEBRUARY 2016

Our Leinster Senior Saturday side defeated Celbridge Town in the league last Saturday. In a first half which saw very few clear cut chances the teams went in level at the break, Rovers went in front on twenty minutes when good work from Jim Foley and Ciaran McGettigan on the right set up Maurice Dunne for a simple tap in. Celbridge levelled shortly before the break. Rovers pulled away in the second period when Maurice Dunne stroked home his second of the match from the penalty spot to bring his tally for the season to eleven. Mark Johnson sealed the points for Rovers when he nabbed his first goal of the campaign. The under 19’s are finding the going tough, last week they went down 8-2 to Woodlawn/Sportslink, the Power brothers Alan and Jamie were both on the score sheet.Junior action last Saturday saw our 12B's go down narrowly 2-1 away to Arklow Town B, in a titanic tussle with nothing between the two sides it was the Town who just edged it. Zach Callery scored his third of the season when netting the Rovers goal. Our under 13A's recorded an excellent 4-0 premier cup quarter final win over Ashford Rovers, Sam Brown, Luke Dease, Harry Hodgkinson and Samuel Bishop all scored one a piece to ensure the lads a comfortable passage to the semi final. The under 13C's came up against a very strong Roundwood team in the division 1 cup quarter final. The team gave it their all and never stopped trying but Roundwood were physically too strong for the lads winning 9-0. The 14A team recorded what was probably their best win of the season when they defeated last seasons league champions Shamrock Bhoys 3-0 in the premier shield. Dylan Kavanagh hit two to bring his tally for the season to five with Craig Anderson scoring his third of the campaign. This was an excellent all round team performance and it shows the lads are more than a match for any team in their age group. The 14B's recorded an excellent 2-0 away win over Wolfe Tone in their first shield match. A brace of goals from Tom O'Shea [his fourth and fifth goals of the season] got the lads shield campaign off to the perfect start in what was a good all round team performance.On Sunday The under 11 Green team went to the Woodlands and came back with all three points when they defeated Greystones United A 1-0 in the Premier shield. Oscar Malcomson fired in the all important goal after some good work from Harry Tobin Kelly in the build up to now give the lads 6 points from 3 games in this competition. Our under 11 White team went down 4-2 to Glencormac United in what was an exciting tussle that could really have gone either way. The lads gave a good account of themselves in this game and in truth with a bit of luck they could easily have got something from the game. Ben Bowen fired home his fourth of the season with Aran Cavanagh notching his first of the campaign. The under 12A’s had an excellent 3-0 win over Wolfe Tone in the quarter final of the premier cup, Jordan Younger, Conor Hunter and Tom Hodgkinson hit the all important goals to see the lads progress to the semi final, Conor Luddy in the Rovers goal pulled off two incredible saves at important stages of the game. For team photo and action shots check out the club facebook page and the club website. Our 13B's went down 3-2 to St Anthonys, Ben Free scored his eleventh of the season with David Lally getting his second of the campaign. The under 15’s lost 6-0 away to St Anthonys in a game which the lads never got going in. The 16B’s had an excellent 7-0 win over Arklow Utd, Daniel Fitzsimons scored four, Jack Colaluca nabbed a brace and Shane Lincoln scored his first of the season to complete the scoring.The club are running an Easter Camp, it runs from Tuesday 29 th March to Friday 1 st April. It runs from 10 am to 2 pm daily in the Whitegates. The cost of the camp is €40, a ball will be given to all participants at the start and a medal will be presented on the final day. Check out club facebook page and club website for more details.The club’s AGM will take place on Monday 7th March in the clubhouse meeting room at the Whitegates. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp, all members are encouraged to attend the meeting. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 sharp. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Greta McDonnell who sadly passed away recently. Greta's grand daughter Lucy, grandson Luca and grand nephew Mark all play for the club while her son in law Boodhan manages our under 16A team . Our thoughts and prayers are with her daughter Sandra, Boodhan, Luca, Lucy, Mark and the McDonnell family at this sad time, may she rest in peace.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 28th FEBRUARY 2016

The intermediate team lost 3-1 at home to Kilnamanagh, the lads were leading 1-0 through a Brian Harrington goal when disaster struck just before the break when the away side levelled from the penalty spot. In truth at 1-0 the lads had two great chances to put this game to bed but they didn’t avail of them. The visitors second goal was hotly disputed, it wasn’t the awarding of a second penalty that was the problem, it was when the penalty taker scored from a rebound off the woodwork when the rules state the ball should touch another player before the taker can touch the ball again. Anyway the lads shipped another goal shortly after that to put the game out of their reach. It was a game of two halves for Rovers, first period saw them play very well while in the second they never got going.The second team continued their assault on the league title when they travelled away from home to take on Leicester Celtic and came home with all three points thanks to a 3-0 win. The lads turned in a total professional perfomance to keep their place at the top of the league. Maurice Dunne made it twelve for the season from the penalty spot, Mark Delaney nabbed his seventh of the campaign with Conor Tobin firing home his fourth of the season. Maurice Dunne earned the match of the match accolade in a good team performance.Saturday’s junior section action saw the under 11 green team recorded an excellent 4-2 away win over Rathnew, Oscar Malcomson, Evan Burke, Steven Gormley and an own goal accounted for the Rovers tally. Harry Tobin Kelly, Jack Noble and Sam Culleton all provided assists on the day. The 11 white team lost narrowly away to St Patricks, leading scorer Ryan McConnell hit his sixteenth goal of the season. The 12B’s went down 3-0 to league leaders Newtown Juniors, Rovers gave a good account of themselves and gave the visitors a good game. Our 12C’s suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of a very strong St Patricks team while the 13C’s lost 7-0 to Greystones Utd. The 14A’s lost 3-1 at home to Greystones Utd, in a close encounter the lads could have got something from the game, Nathan Sullivan notched his first of the campaign for the lads. Our 14B’s were involved in an exciting nine goal thriller with Roundwood in the Rocky Road, the visitors ran out 6-3 winners. Rovers keeper Joe O’Shea scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot, his brother Tom nabbed his sixth of the campaign with Thomas O’Neill firing home his eleventh for the season. Our under 15’s went down 5-1 away to Avonmore, the lads battled through out with their only reward coming from a first goal of the season from Nathan Wynne.Sunday’s junior action saw the under 13A’s defeat Arklow Town B 3-1 in the under 14 division one shield, Samuel Bishop, Connor Lewins and Harry Hodgkinson scored their goals to get their shield campaign off to a winning start. The 13B’s had an exciting 3-2 win over Roundwood, Ben Free, Scott Bushe and Lee Hamilton netted for them. Our under 16A’s kept up their assault for the under 16 premier title with a narrow 2-1 win over St Anthonys, top scorer Stephen Finlay hit both goals to bring his tally for the season to sixteen. The 16B’s lost narrowly away to Avonmore going down 2-1, Jack Colaluca scored for the third game in a row to make it now nine for the season.The club are running an Easter Camp, it runs from Tuesday 29 th March to Friday 1 st April. It runs from 10 am to 2 pm daily in the Whitegates. The cost of the camp is €40, a ball will be given to all participants at the start and a medal will be presented on the final day. Check out club facebook page and club website for more details.The club’s AGM will take place on Monday 7th March in the clubhouse meeting room at the Whitegates. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp, all members are encouraged to attend the meeting. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 sharp. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Helen O'Reilly who sadly passed away recently, Helen's grand daughter Bridget plays for our senior ladies team, our prayers and thoughts go out to Bridget, the O'Reilly family and their friends at this sad time. May she rest in peace.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 13th MARCH 2016

The intermediate team played two games during the week, firstly they travelled to take on Liffey Wanderers last Wednesday which they narrowly lost 1-0 in a good team performance. This was game in which they had the chances to get something from but unfortunately it didn’t go their way on the night. On Sunday they went down 2-1 at home to St Josephs Boys, in a game of very little in the way of clear cut chances the Rovers goal came from Mark Delaney when he powerfully fired home a free kick from the edge of the area with three minutes remaining. They even had a half chance in injury time to draw level but the breaking ball just didn’t go their way.Our Saturday team recorded a good win away to Glebe North in the second round of the Noel Ryan cup winning 2-1, their opponents ply their trade in the top Saturday division so this proved to be a notable scalp. Mark Delaney nabbed one to make it eight for the season with Jim Foley scoring his fourth of the campaign to see them safely through to round three.Saturday’s junior action saw the under 12A’s defeat Aughrim Rgrs 7-0, the highlight of this game was two well taken hat-tricks from Conor Hunter, his second hat-trick of the season to bring his tally to twelve for the campaign. Jordan Younger hit his first hat-trick of the season to bring his haul to eight for the season. Tiernan O’Brien completed the scoring with his first goal of the season in what was a good all round team performance. Our 13A’s took on Arklow Town A but unfortunately they went down 3-1, this result means it’s a straight one off game between the lads and Ashford for runners up spot with the winner taking that spot. Samuel Bishop scored the Rovers goal, his thirteenth of the season. The under 16A’s moved a step closer to claiming the premier league title with a comprehensive 7-1 win away to Arklow Town. Stephen Finlay made it a hat-trick of hat-tricks this season when he fired home four goals to bring his total for the season to an incredible twenty goals, Luca Rampersaud, Stuart Cox and Paul King all added singles to leave the lads six points clear with three games to go.On Sunday the 12B’s defeated St Anthonys B 2-1 at the Whitegates, under 11 player Oscar Malcomson set them on their way and Rory Hannon’s second goal of the season ensured all three points. Our under 13B’s had an excellent 4-2 win over second in the table Greystones Utd, a fantastic individual scoring feat from Ben Free paved the way for this success, Ben fired home all four goals to bring his tally for the season to sixteen. On the day Rovers were in excellent form and fully deserved their win in what was an excellent all round team performance. If its goals you were looking for the Vartry Grounds in Roundwood was the place to be. Our under 14B’s took on the home team and when these two teams met a couple of weeks a go they served up a nine goal thriller, this time they went two goals better in an eleven goal thriller. League leaders Roundwood ran out 7-4 winners but in truth the real winner in this was football, an excellent advert for football. Thomas O’Neill fired home three, two coming from the spot with Tom O’Shea scoring the fourth in a game that had everything. The under 15’s were also in the Vartry Grounds but unfortunately for them they went down 7-1 to Roundwood, they gave a hundred percent in their effort and with a bit of luck they could have added a couple of more goals, Nathan Wynne hit his second goal of the campaign.The club are running an Easter Camp, it runs from Tuesday 29th March to Friday 1st April. It runs from 10 am to 2 pm daily in the Whitegates. The cost of the camp is €40, a ball will be given to all participants at the start and a medal will be presented on the final day. Check out club facebook page and club website for more details.Our Last Man Standing competition is now down to 2 players, Zach Harris and Jonathan Lewins will go head to head in round 7 this weekend, both players would have received their fixtures by now. Selections will be posted on the club website and facebook pages as soon as both players have submitted their selections in what should prove to be an exciting head to head battle, good luck to both players, check home page of the club website for more information regarding our LMS competition.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 20th MARCH 2016

The intermediate team were a touch unlucky to go down to a narrow 1-0 away defeat to promotion chasing Shamrock Bhoys, against their more experienced opponents the young Rovers team worked their socks off. Gary Browne pulled off three world class saves but it wasn’t all one way traffic as the Bhoys keeper was called into action on a number of occasions. Cian O’Hainaigh had two efforts, Mark O’Sullivan and Alan Power had one each but they were all denied by the keeper. On the day every player was excellent in the green jersey, a special mention goes to our young players, Brian O’Sullivan, Jamie Power, Alan Power and Gary Browne were excellent with Adam Browne doing his bit when introduced from the bench. The Saturday team kept their title hopes on track when they recorded a comfortable 3-1 win at home to one of their main rivals Drumcondra. This was a game the lads were always in control of and in truth they never looked in danger. Ciaran McGettigan set them on their way with a delicate chip from an acute angle over the advancing keeper. Maurice Dunne went close to making it 2-0 when his thunderous effort from the edge of the area smashed away off the underside of the bar. Hugh Humby coolly slotted home to make it 2-0 after sixty minutes and then Ciaran McGettigan sealed the points when he fired home his second of the game and his sixteenth of the season. Drumcondra netted a consolation from the penalty spot in the dying seconds.Saturday’s junior action saw the under 12A’s defeat second in the table Arklow Utd 5-1, the prolific Conor Hunter hit a brace to make it fourteen for the season, Sean O’Meara and Mark Hodgkinson added singles with the fifth coming in the form of an own goal. The 12B’s lost 3-2 to Ashford, Zach Harris scored his first of the season with the second going in by a deflection. Our 12C’s which is an all girls team were very unlucky not to get something from their game with Greystones, they lost heavily to the same opponents earlier in the season and a sign of their improvement was even though they lost 2-0 they definitely deserved to get something out of the game. See club facebook and website pages for photos. Congratulations to our under 13A’s who claimed runners up spot in the premier league when they defeated Ashford in a winner takes all game. An excellent hat-trick from Sam Brown [his third hat-trick of the season] set the lads on their way, Samuel Bishop and Max Kearney hit a single each to give the lads a 5-3 win, well done to the lads and their coaches Jerry Lewins and Mick Kearney. The 13C’s recorded a fantastic 2-1 win over local neighbours Wicklow Town to gain their first win of the season which is well deserved for the hundred percent effort they have been given all season, Ethan Allen’s sixth goal of the season and a first for Cass Kelleher gave the lads a well deserved win. The 14B’s claimed an excellent 5-3 win away to Newtown Juniors, the prolific Thomas O’Neill fired home four goals to make it the fourth time he has hit more than three goals in a game, the other part of the 14B’s scoring machine Tom O’Shea hit a single his fifth goal in five games to give the lads all three points in what was a thrilling encounter with some good football on display from both teams.Sunday’s junior action saw the under 11 white’s play out another thriller when losing 5-3 to Avonmore, Ben Bowen scored two with Ryan McConnell getting one. Our 13B’s defeated Arklow Town 7-1, Lee Hamilton nabbed a hat-trick, Noah Sheridan fired home two with Ben Free and David Lally notching one each. The 14A’s recorded an excellent 3-0 away win over Coolboy, Paul Marah, Nathan Sullivan and Callum Kelly all scored one a piece. The 15’s lost 5-1 to Greystones with Ryan Murphy firing home his tenth goal of the season.The club are running an Easter Camp, it runs from Tuesday 29th March to Friday 1st April. It runs from 10 am to 2 pm daily in the Whitegates. The cost of the camp is €40, a ball will be given to all participants at the start and a medal will be presented on the final day. Check out club facebook page and club website for more details. Well after seven rounds in our Last Man Standing competition we finally have a winner, Jonathan Lewins claimed the title of Last Man Standing champion in the process capturing the €500 prize, Jonathan’s selection Swansea defeated bottom of the table Aston Villa 1-0 to see Jonathan over the line. Hard luck to 12 year old Zach Harris who fell at the final hurdle when his selection West Brom went down 1-0 to Norwich. Congratulations to Jonathan and hard luck to Zach. Once again a big thanks to everyone who supported our Last Man Standing competition, your continuous support is very much appreciated.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 27th MARCH 2016

With no junior games because of the bank holiday Easter weekend and the Saturday teams game away to Lucan United falling foul of the bad weather it was left to the intermediate team to provide the action on the playing field. They entertained Portlaoise AFC in the Whitegates, the lads gave themselves a mountain to climb by conceding some soft goals. They fell behind after ten minutes when the away side scored from the penalty spot. The lads did create a couple of chances but they went in at the break 2-0 down when a mix up in defence allowed Portlaoise in on the stroke of half time to double their lead. Disaster struck early in the second period when Rovers gave the ball away cheaply and ended up getting punished when Portlaoise fired home number three. On the hour mark the lads pulled one back when Cian O’Hainaigh slotted home from the spot, with fifteen minutes left Cian O’Hainagh fired home his and Rovers second to set up a grandstand finish. The lads did have the ball in the net in the closing minutes but it was ruled out for an infringement. The lads were always chasing the game after giving away soft goals but to their credit they never gave up and probably should have snatched something from the game. Alan Power turned in a man of the match display with his tireless running from box to box, he was always a threat when running at the Portlaoise defence while always willing to help out his own defenders. Maurice Dunne also impressed with some accurate lay offs and his defence splitting passes which always found a man in the green shirt. The team hard that they tried, just could not get that all important third goal.Last week the installation of our new floodlights were completed, a test run was carried out during the week and now its only a matter of getting permission from the relevant league and approval to start playing matches under lights. It was a long drawn out process to get to this stage with a lot of hard work carried out behind the scenes. The club would like to thank everyone involved in the process in getting to this stage, all your hard work is very much appreciated.Our Saturday morning soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting]. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. Its for boys and girls from the age of 3 years upwards who are interested in learning the sport of soccer while also having fun. So for anyone that’s interested come along to the Whitegates on Saturday morning, there is no long term registration, you come along to whatever Saturdays you can make. Wicklow Rovers AFC promote soccer for schoolboys/girls, youths and seniors in the community, our club is growing all the time and any assistance with the help of running the club would be very much appreciated. At present we have a very hard working committee but we are always on the look out for people interested in helping out, the club are always on the look out for people who are interested in getting involved in soccer, whether its coaching and managing or on the executive committee or a sub committee, maybe you would just like to help as an assistant manager, help with fundraising or help just around the grounds or in anyway at all, don’t hesitate, get involved, anyone interested in helping out the club in anyway can contact any committee member. So if your interested in doing some work around the club please contact any of the following committee members, John Frazer, Paul Delaney, Johnny Dunne, Franny Copeland, Jimmy Nolan, Rob Free, Mandy O’Neill, Willie O’Brien and Jason Harris, contact numbers can be found on the club website or alternatively you can private message our club facebook page. The club are currently still looking to obtain a defibrillator, with the help of a club member we have availed of a great opportunity to obtain a defibrillator from a first aid provider. If the club can collect 300 old mobile phones we will be given a defibrillator in exchange for the old phones. We are now not too far away from reaching the total required so the club would be grateful if people would donate their old unwanted phones to this worthy cause. So if you have purchased a new phone and your looking to recycle your old phone why not donate it to the club for this worthy cause so we can avail of this offer for an important piece of equipment. Anyone interested in donating any old phones can contact any of the following by texting or ringing to organise collection or drop off, J Frazer 087-0564394; Jimmy Nolan 087-9108706; Rob Free 085-8153424; Paul Delaney 086-3700320; Franny Copeland 087-7589332; Johnny Dunne 087-7802098; Jason Harris 086-2516731;Willie O'Brien 086-1696911 and Mandy O’Neill 087-7924649.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 3rd APRIL 2016

Our Saturday team maintained their pursuit of the Leinster Senior Saturday Major 1A title when they claimed all three points in a fine 3-0 away win last Saturday night against St James Gate. Maurice Dunne notched a brace, one coming from the penalty spot to bring his tally for the season to fourteen. Conor Tobin scored his fifth of the season heading home from a corner to cap off a very professional performance. This win keeps the lads on top of the pile with Swords Celtic and Ballymun United their main challengers. Swords are eleven points behind the lads with four games in hand while Ballymun are thirteen points behind with five games in hand. Both these teams have to play each other while the lads have finished with both. The weekend’s junior action was some what curtailed due to inclement weather that came in on Friday and lasted for the weekend. Some games did get the go ahead on Saturday though. The under 11 whites recorded a fantastic 5-3 away win over Avonmore, finding themselves 3-1 down at half time the lads produced a stirring come back to win. Ryan McConnell hit two to bring his tally for the season to twenty one, Ben Bowen and Matthew Porter scored one a piece to make it seven each for the campaign with Ian Kavanagh scoring his third of the season to complete the scoring. They also had a midweek game which they lost 3-2 to champions elect Glencormac Utd. The lads produced some excellent football on the night and their efforts deserved something from the game, on the night we had a first ever goal from young Mikey Nolan and what a way to get off the mark curling a free kick into the top hand corner. Kacper Lepek scored the second with a lovely chipped effort. The under 12A’s produced some stunning football in their 6-2 premier cup semi final victory over Aughrim Rangers, finding themselves 1-0 down after two minutes the lads dominated for large periods producing some excellent football On the day we had six different scorers, Jordan Younger drew them level, a goal either side of the break from Callum Gibney and Willoughby Woods put them 3-1 up. Leading scorer Conor Hunter nabbed his fifteenth of the season to make it 4-1 and then Mark Hodgkinson made it five. Aughrim pulled one back before Luke Dunne put the icing on the cake with his first goal of the season. Well done Colin, Jenny and the lads. The 12C’s went down to a heavy defeat to a physically bigger Carnew side, in terrible conditions which were more suited to the stronger Carnew side the girls gave it a hundred percent as usual. The 13C’s lost 7-0 to Arklow Town B, they battled through out and with a bit of luck in front of goal they might have nicked a couple of scores. Our under 16B’s set up a possible all Rovers final when they defeated St Patricks 3-2 in the semi final of the premier cup in Kilcashel. The lads were 2-1 down at the break in a fairly even first half, the second half saw Rovers dictate most of the play which saw them come back to win. Leading scorer Daniel Fitzsimons now has twenty four for the season when he notched a brace, Conor Byrne made it nine for the season when he added a single to book their place in the final. The lads must wait to see if they will play the ‘A’ team in the final as they will take on Arklow Utd in the other semi final.The clubs AGM has been rearranged for Monday the 25th of April, it will take place in the clubhouse in the Whitegates and will start at 7.30 pm. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp.Our Easter Soccer camp was a huge success with over 90 kids taking part in the camp. The weather was kind to us for most of the week with Friday been the only bad day weather wise. All the kids had a great time while the bigger kids [coaches] also seemed to enjoy themselves. The club would like to thank the kids and their parents for supporting our Easter camp, we thank you all for your continuous support.Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Jackie McCloskey who sadly passed away recently, our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this sad time, may he rest in peace.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 10th APRIL 2016

The intermediate team were involved in two games last week, in midweek action they took on Liffey Wanderers in the Gilligan cup. They made all the early running and had the chances to go in front but it was Liffey who drew first blood to take the lead. Shortly after they were two up, Rovers hit back with goals from Cian O'Hainaigh and Stephen Earls but Liffey took the honours with a winning goal in the dying minutes. The lads performed superbly well here and deserved something from the game. On Sunday they were at home to the same opponents and were on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline. Brian Byrne drew them level after they fell behind early on but the Dublin side fired home the winner from the penalty spot midway through the second period.The Saturday team took on Swords Celtic in the third round of the Noel Ryan cup and came home with a disappointing 4-1 defeat. In truth the lads probably have one eye on their challenge for the title which as they say is your bread and butter. Maurice Dunne fired in his fourth cup goal to bring his tally to fifteen in all competitions for the season.In midweek junior action the under 11 greens defeated local neighbours Wicklow Town 6-3, Sam Culleton and Louis Malcomson both scored two goals a piece, Sam Greene and Jack Noble hit one each. The 12C's gave it their all in a 5-0 defeat to Ashford Rovs and the girls were a little unlucky not to register a couple of scores. A superb hat-trick from Ben Free and singles from Scott Bushe, Luke Horan, Noah Sheridan and Mark Evans helped the 13Bs secure a win over their clubmates the 'C' team. The 14A's drew 2-2 with Arklow Town with goals from Cian Ward and Callum Kelly. Thomas O'Neill hit his fifth hat-trick of the season in their 5-4 defeat to Newtown Juniors in the cup, Tom O'Shea nabbed the fourth goal in a thriller. Ryan Murphy and Luke Kelly hit the goals for the under 15's in their 5-2 defeat to Roundwood. The 16B's beat Greystones Utd 8-3, Daniel Fitzsimons blasted home an excellent five goals, Sean Leonard, Conor Byrne and Eoin Sreenan scored one each.The weekend’s junior action saw the 12A's away to second placed Arklow United on Friday and they shared the spoils in an exciting 3-3 draw. Tom Hodgkinson blasted in a brace to make it five for the season with top scorer Conor Hunter adding one to bring his tally to sixteen for the campaign. On Saturday our all girls team [12C's] put in a great performance in defeat when they went down 3-1 to St Patricks. Only recently they lost 10-0 to the same opposition so it just shows how much improvement this little team are making. They put in a great shift giving a hundred percent and were a little unlucky. Molly Sweeney was on the score sheet for her second of the season in what was a great all round team performance. A lot of credit must go to coach Niall Cull for all his hard work with the team. Well done Niall and the team. The 13B's took on St Anthonys in their own backyard, Anthonys went into this game boasting a one hundred percent record since they dropped down from the premier division but the lads put it up to them in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Noah Sheridan made it fourteen for the season when he scored twice with David Lally firing home his fourth of the campaign. The 14A's dropped their first points in the premier shield when they lost 3-2 away to Arklow Town in a closely fought game. Cian Ward scored his second goal of the week to make it three for the season with Robbie Hoffman nabbing his second this season. The 16B's completed the double over Greystones United this week, after defeating them in the league during the week they beat the same opposition on Saturday winning 4-2 in the shield. Leading scorer Daniel Fitzsimons broke the 30 goal mark for the season when he scored two goals to bring his tally to 31, Conor Byrne poached a single to make it 11 for the campaign with Dylan Frazer popping up for his third of the season.On Sunday the 11 whites beat Enniskerry 8-2, Ryan McConnell his an amazing five goals, Matthew Porter, Jamie Duffy and Mikey Nolan scored their other goals. The 13A’s defeated Enniskerry 5-2, Connor Lewins hit a brace with singles coming from Sam Brown, Max Kearney and Adam O’Reilly. Our 14B’s beat Greystones Utd 4-3 with two goals from Daniel Murphy and one each from Tom O’Shea and Nedas Velindas. The under 15’s won 2-0 against Little Bray Utd with Ryan Murphy and Nathan Wynne getting their names on the score sheet. The clubs AGM has been rearranged for Monday the 25th of April, it will take place in the clubhouse in the Whitegates and will start at 7.30 pm. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 17th APRIL 2016

The Saturday team had a very important win at the weekend, they beat Colepark Utd 3-2 and what an important three points this could be, with the game tied at 2-2 and deep into injury time it looked like the lads would have to settle for a point but to their credit they kept going forward in search of a winner which would earn them all three points. Ciaran McGettigan popped up with his second goal of the game to give the lads a valuable win. Conor Tobin added a single to Ciaran's brace which now means the lads are ten points clear of Ballymun Utd who have four games in hand.Midweek action was confined to the junior section of the club. On Tuesday the under 13C's lost 6-0 to a very strong Arklow Town side. Wednesday saw the 11 green team lose 6-3 away to St Anthonys, Oscar Malcomson and Louis Malcomson scored one each with the other coming in the shape of an own goal. On Thursday the 12B's lost out by the odd goal in five losing 3-2 away to Aughrim, Zach Callery and Kyle Corrigan fired home the goals in a game they should have got something from. The same night the under 15's played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Arklow Town, Nathan Wynne, Ryan Murphy and Luke Durac McGowan all scored one a piece. The junior action for the weekend started on Friday night with the under 14A's battling out a tough 1-1 draw with Arklow Town at the Whitegates. Dylan Kavanagh scored the all important goal which keeps them in the running for a place in the shield final. On Saturday the all girls team (12C's) had a great 2-0 away win over Greystones Utd, first goals of the season for Lucy Rampersaud and Katie Marah paved the way for this victory. Every girl in the squad played their part in an excellent performance. On the down side to the game Eve Kelly broke her collar bone in her sides win, her manager, team mates and everyone at the club would like to wish Eve a speedy recovery from her injury, we all hope to see you back on the playing field very soon, get well soon Eve. The 11A green team had a good 3-1 win over Rathnew in a local derby in the Hockey pitch, two goals from Louis Malcomson and a single from Sam Culleton keeps the lads on track for a place in the shield final. The under 13A's comprehensively defeated Ashford Rovs winning 11-0, Sam Brown hit his third hat-trick of the season, Connor Lewins also fired in a hat-trick. Luke Dease nabbed a brace with Max Kearney, Samuel Bishop and Adam O'Reilly scoring one a piece. Our 13C's recorded an excellent 3-1 win over local rivals Wicklow Town at Finlay Park to get their shield campaign off to a winning start. Cass Kelleher, Roy Browne and Ethan Allen from the penalty spot accounted for their goals. The 14B's played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Arklow Town, two goals from Tom O'Shea and one from top scorer Thomas O'Neill earned them a point in this thrilling encounter.On Sunday the under 12A’s made it two wins from two in the premier shield with a 2-1 win over Arklow Town, Willoughby Woods doubled his tally for the season when he scored both Rovers goals to maintain their winning start in the shield. Our 12B’s played out a 1-1 draw away to Glencormac, in a tight encounter with very little between the teams it was under 11A player Sam Christie who popped up to score the Rovers goal that earned them a well deserved point. The under 15’s lost narrowly at home to Avonmore at the Whitegates, in a game that could have went either way it was the away team who came out on top winning 2-1, Ryan Murphy scored the Rovers goal to make it fourteen for the season. The 16B’s lost 3-1 away to Greystones Utd, their first defeat in the division one shield, Luke Whyte scored their goal.The clubs AGM has been rearranged for Monday the 25th of April, it will take place in the clubhouse in the Whitegates and will start at 7.30 pm. Please arrive early as the meeting will start at 7.30 pm sharp.Our Saturday morning academy continues every Saturday morning from 11 o’clock to 12 in the Whitegates under the guidance of experienced club coach Johnny Dunne. The academy is for both boys and girls from the age of 3 up to 8 years of age. No registration required, just come along and join in and have fun while learning the skills of football.

Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 24th APRIL 2016

The intermediate team made the long journey to Drogheda Town last Friday night and came home empty handed losing 5-1, the lads were very much understrength. On the night Gavin McDevitt scored the goal for Rovers. Midweek junior action saw the under 14A's go down 3-2 away to last season's league champions Shamrock Boys in a thrilling encounter. Dylan Kavanagh scored both the Rovers goals to make it eight for the season. The 14B's beat table toppers Wolfe Tone in the division 2 shield to go joint top of the table with their opponents, two goals from Thomas O'Neill and one from Daniel Murphy gained them all three points in a 3-0 victory. The under 15's played out a battling 2-2 draw away to Arklow Town B, top scorer Ryan Murphy and David McNabb notched their goals. The 16A's started off their shield campaign with a tough 3-2 home win over St Anthonys, Stuart Cox nabbed a brace with Stephen Finlay scoring one. On Saturday the 11A’s kept their destiny in the premier shield in their own hands with a valuable away point in a 3-3 draw with Aughrim, Jack Noble, Sam Culleton and Steven Gormley fired home the all important goals which keeps the lads on top of the pile. Our 12C’s suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of a much physically stronger Coolboy side, to the girl’s credit they battled all the way to the final whistle. The 14A's had a good 4-1 win over Arklow Town, Dylan Kavanagh continued his golden streak of late in front of goal when he fired home an excellent hat-trick to make it six goals in his last three games, Jack Fox completed the scoring with a single. In the under 13 division 1 cup semi final the under 13B's beat local neighbours Wicklow Town 6-0 to book their place in the final. The highlight of the game was a five goal salvo from Ben Free to bring his tally for the season to twenty five, Connor Leonard hit the sixth goal in a good all round team performance. The 16A’s booked their place in the premier cup final with a 6-2 win over Arklow Utd, Luca Rampersaud led the way with a fantastic hat-trick, Stuart Cox fired in two with Patrick O’Keane completing the scoring, this result now means it will be an all Rovers final with the ‘B’ team having previously booked their spot in the final.Sunday’s action saw the under 12B team progress to the final of the division 1 cup when they beat Glencormac Utd 1-0 in a very tight game that could have went either way. The lads went in front when Sam Christie coolly dispatched the ball past the keeper after fifteen minutes. This proved to be the decisive goal as through out the game both defences were very much on top. Both sides did create a couple of half chances but neither side could pierce the rock solid rearguards of both teams. Well done to Jason and the lads on making the final. The 13A’s also progressed to their premier cup final when they defeated St Anthonys 5-2 in Finn Park, two goals from Connor Lewins and one each from Sam Brown, Adam O’Reilly and Luke Dease gives the lads a chance to go one better in the cup after picking up runners up spot in the premier league. The 14B’s put themselves in the driving seat in the division 2 shield when they beat Avonmore 8-1, four goals from top scorer Thomas O’Neill [sixth hat-trick of the season] and three from Tom O’Shea laid the foundations for this win, Daniel Murphy added a single to complete the eight goal haul and maintain their unbeaten run in the shield. Our under 15’s secured all three points with a 6-3 win away to Aughrim Rgrs, Ryan Murphy hit a superb hat-trick, Jack Meaney nabbed two with Nathan Wynne adding one in a good all round team performance. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Patrick (Champ) O'Neill, late of Pearse House, Dublin who sadly passed away recently. Patrick 's son Robert was involved with our club as a manager and on the committee over the years. His grandson Corey also played with the club. Our thoughts and prayers are with Rob and his family and friends at this sad time, may he rest in peace.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 1st MAY 2016

The intermediate team went down 3-0 to fellow strugglers Confey FC, the lads never really got going in this game and caused very few problems to the Confey defence. On the day Paul Alexander and Stephen Earls led by example with Alan Power covering every blade of grass and giving his all for the cause.The Saturday team came out on top in a repeat of last year’s cup final when they defeated Leicester Celtic 1-0 in the second round of the Tom Carroll cup. In a tight cup tie it was top scorer Ciaran McGettigan’s goal that separated the sides and earn the lads a third round tie away to Liffey Wanderers.Midweek action in our junior section started on Tuesday night, the under 12A's were involved in a cracking game with Arklow Town A, the lads lost 5-4 in a nine goal thriller but in truth there was no losers in this game. Both Rovers and Arklow served up an excellent feast of football for the watching public with the real winners been football. Conor Hunter and Jordan Younger both bagged two goals a piece in what was a great advert for the game, well done to both teams and their coaching staff. Our under 14A's suffered a disappointing 6-2 defeat at home to Greystones Utd, this result all but kills off their hopes of making the shield final. Jack Fox and Jamie Noble registered a goal each. The under 15's recorded a hard earned 2-1 victory away to neighbours Rathnew, Jack Meaney and Chris Mabuza fired in their goals which means the lads have now only been defeated once in their last six games. On Wednesday the under 13C's battled right up to the final whistle but couldn't stop a strong Arklow Town side winning 4-0. The under 11 white team got their shield campaign off to a winning start when they earned all three points in a tough 3-2 away win over Arklow Utd, top scorer Ryan McConnell hit number 27 for the season, Ben Bowen scored his eighth of the season with the decisive goal coming from Mikey Nolan. On Thursday night the 12B's suffered a hangover from their recent cup semi final success when they lost 3-0 away to Roundwood. The under 14B’s went goal crazy hitting twelve past Arklow Celtic winning 12-0, Thomas O’Neill scored an astonishing six goals, goalkeeper Joe O’Shea came outfield in the second period and fired in an excellent hat-trick. Tom O’Shea, Ramsey Pinsker and Aidan Kelly completed the scoring with one each. On Saturday the under 11 green team went down 5-4 to Newtown Juniors in a nine goal thriller, Jack Noble fired home a brace with Sam Culleton and Sam Greene nabbing one a piece. The 13A’s went down 3-1 in a top of the table clash in the under 14 division 1 shield, Max Kearney scored the Rovers goal to bring his tally to fourteen. Our 13B’s got their shield campaign off to a flyer with an impressive 6-1 away win over Greystones Utd, David Lally and under 12A player Conor Hunter both hit two goals each with Noah Sheridan and Luke Horan notching singles. The 14A’s defeated Arklow Town 3-1 in Lamberton, Dylan Kavanagh fired home his eleventh goal of the season with Cian Ward and Robbie Hoffman also getting on the score sheet. The 14B’s drew 1-1 away to Aughrim, top scorer Thomas O’Neill claimed the Rovers goal to make it an incredible thirty five for the season. The under 16B’s drew 1-1 away to Arklow Utd which keeps them well in the mix for a top two spot and a place in the division one shield final, a first goal of the season for Pablo Godino Serrano secured a share of the spoils for the lads and earned them what could prove to be a very important point.Sunday’s action was limited to two games, the under 11 white team were involved in a very entertaining game against St Patricks of Avoca, after racing into a 2-0 lead with goals from Jamie Duffy and Ryan McConnell they were pegged back by the Avoca side with the game ending up at 2-2, definitely the lads will be thinking they left this one behind. The under 13C’s lost 6-0 to league champions Roundwood but the scoreline flattered the champions a little bit. Rovers were the better team in the first period controlling the game for large spells and not having much luck in front of goal. The lads ran out of steam in the second period which is when Roundwood punished the lads.On behalf of the club's executive committee I would like to thank everyone who attended our AGM on Monday night, it was great to see some new faces in attendance. Thanks to the few managers, coaches and parents that attended. A big thanks to the senior ladies team who turned out in large numbers and finally thanks to everyone for their input at the meeting, your interest and support for the club is very much appreciated, Wicklow Rovers AFC executive committee.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 8th MAY 2016

The intermediate team went down 5-3 to Ballyfermot Utd, in truth this game was so open it could have ended 7-7 or 8-8. The game was very open, the lads went in front when Brian Harrington coolly rounded the keeper to slot home. Ballyfermot levelled but shortly after the impressive Ciaran McGettigan powered Rovers in front. Just before the break the Dublin side levelled again. The second period was as open as the first and it was Rovers who edged in front again when Ciaran McGettian fired home his second of the game. The lads were undone by two quick fire goals from Ballyfermot and then a cruel deflection gave Gary Browne in the Rovers goal no chance as Ballyfermot killed off the game with their fifth. It was as good a performance as any during the season on Sunday, a mixture of bad luck and probably running out of steam in the final quarter told on the lads. Brian Byrne, Jim Foley and Ciaran McGettigan stood out in a good team performance.Action in the junior section during the week saw the under 11 white team go down 3-1 to Glencormac United, Mikey Nolan continued his hot streak in front of goal when he fired home the Rovers goal. The 12A's lost 2-0 to league champions Arklow Town in a game that could have went either way with the lads having the chances to get something from the game. Zach Callery hit the Rovers goal in the under 12B's 2-1 defeat at home to Glencormac in an evenly contested encounter. The under 13C's lost 4-0 to table toppers Arklow Town at the Whitegates, the lads battled through out the game against a strong Arklow outfit. Our under 13A's defeated Newtown Juniors 10-4 in the under 14 division 1 shield, Adam O'Reilly hit an excellent hat-trick, Max Kearney helped himself to a brace with Harry Hodgkinson, Connor Lewins, Mark O'Brien, Samuel Bishop and Ryan Delamere all adding singles to keep them in pole position to make the final. Another team in a good position is our 14B's who head the table in the division 2 shield, they beat Aughrim 3-1 on Thursday. One goal a piece from Thomas O'Neill, Tom O'Shea and Daniel Murphy puts them in a strong position to make the final.Sunday’s action saw the under 11 white team go down 3-1 away to Greystones Utd, leading 1-0 at the break through Ryan McConnell’s twenty ninth goal of the season and controlling the whole first half the lads didn’t reach the same level in the second period as the home side fired in three unanswered goals. The 12B’s got themselves back in contention for a place in their shield final with a narrow 1-0 away win over St Anthonys, a first of the season for Michael O’Neill earned the lads all three points. Our 14B’s maintained their push for a place in the shield final when they beat Avonmore 6-2, a brace a piece for Michael Ryan and Daniel Murphy and one each from Thomas O’Neill and Tom O’Shea keeps the lads destiny very much in their own hands. The under 15’s recorded a good 5-2 win over St Anthonys, two goals from Luke Durac McGowan and singles from Nathan Wynne, Ryan Murphy and Luke Kelly ensured the lads claimed all three points. The 16B’s drew 0-0 against St Patricks, this now means it’s a straight head to head battle between the lads and St Patricks for the final place in the shield final. After this result it means the lads are a point clear of their opponents but St Patricks have a game in hand so it looks like their final game against St Paticks will decide who will progress.Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to congratulate Wicklow rugby club on their great success in the Towns cup at the weekend. It was a great day for everyone associated with Wicklow rugby club and a great day for sport in Wicklow. Once again congratulations and well done to everyone involved. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Ellen Dunne who sadly passed away recently, our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this sad time, may she rest in peace.The senior ladies team and everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Merryn Lacy who at a very young age has sadly passed away. Our senior ladies team formed a special relationship recently during her illness. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this sad time. May she rest in peace.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 15th MAY 2016

The Saturday team suffered a setback in the title race on Monday when they lost 5-3 away to Pegasus/St James Athletic. Rovers led 1-0 but then fell 3-1 behind. They battled back to draw level at 3-3 but were then hit with two counter attacks when they piled forward in search of a winner to lose out on a 5-3 scoreline. Greg Dunne, Ciaran McGettigan and Conor Tobin scored their goals on the night. On Thursday night the lads exited from the Tom Carroll cup when they lost out in extra time to Liffey Wanderers, with the game tied at 1-1 after ninety minutes it was on to extra time. In a tight tense affair it looked like we were heading for a penalty shootout. Cruelly the Dublin side scored what proved to be the winner in the dying seconds, on the night Dave Rowan netted for Rovers. Saturday saw the lads gain three points without kicking a ball due to their opponents Verona been unable to field a team.Junior midweek action started on Tuesday night with the under 13B’s losing a seven goal thriller away to Coolboy, Noah Sheridan, David Lally and Scott Bushe all scored one a piece in a 4-3 defeat. The 14A’s defeated Coolboy Rgrs 3-1 at the Whitegates, Dylan Kavanagh hit his thirteenth of the season, Cian Ward and Paul Marah were the other scorers on the night. Our under 15’s recorded a good 5-1 win over Aughrim, Nathan Wynne and Chris Mabuza fired in a brace each with David McNabb getting one. Wednesday night saw the 12A's go down 3-2 away to Wolfe Tone in a game they should have got something from. Cousins Tom and Mark Hodgkinson scored the goals to give them eight and six respectively for the season. Our all girls team the 12C's earned an excellent point against Arklow Town, after falling a goal behind the girls showed their battling qualities to fight back with an equaliser from the impressive Molly Sweeney, her third of the season. The girls put in a great shift with all fifteen players playing their part. The 16A's kept their dream of a treble alive when they comprehensively defeated St Anthonys 7-1 to book their place in the shield final. On the night there was a brace a piece for Luca Rampersaud, Stuart Cox and James Lang, the game also saw a first of the season for Adam Cuddihy. Thursday’s action saw the under 12B's suffer a setback in the shield when they lost 2-1 away to Ashford Rovs, Alex Byrne scored his first goal of the season for the 12B's. The 14B's have one foot in their shield final after a 5-0 victory over Ashford Rovs, Thomas O'Neill smashed home four goals to bring his tally to an incredible 41 for the season. Tom O'Shea now has nineteen after he scored a single in what was a good team performance. Junior action on Saturday saw the under 11 greens lose 5-2 at home to St Anthonys in their last group shield Match, this result means the lads must now sit back and wait to see if results go their way to help them make the final. Louis Malcomson and Sam Christie scored their goals. The 12A's went down 6-2 to a very good Arklow Town side, the lads came up against a team very much in form, on the day Conor Hunter scored his first shield goal to bring his tally to 19 for the season while Tiernan O'Brien also nabbed his first shield goal for his second of the season. The 13C's lost 7-0 to shield favourites Roundwood, the lads battled through out but nothing went for them on the day. They gave it their all but found the physically bigger Roundwood team too strong on the day. Our under 14B's defeated Greystones United 4-1 in the Whitegates, what this result means is they now require one point from three games to book their spot in the division 2 shield final. They are now unbeaten in 11 shield games and look very much on course for a place in the final. Daniel Murphy hit a brace to make it 12 for the season, Thomas O'Neill and Tom O'Shea scored one a piece in another good all round team performance. Goalkeeper Joe O'Shea and his defensive four must take a lot of credit for their recent great run.On Sunday our under 11 white team went down 4-3 to Wolfe Tone, Ben Bowen, Aran Cavanagh and Mikey Nolan scored their goals in a great all round team performance. The under 13A’s lost 3-1 away to Roundwood, Sam Brown nabbed his twenty third of the season. This result means the lads now require one win from their last three games to make the final. The under 15’s lost narrowly to table toppers Ashford Rovs by two goals to one. Nathan Wynne put the Rovers of Wicklow in front but Ashford fought back to run out 2-1 winners.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 22nd MAY 2016

Senior action saw our Saturday team lose 5-3 away to Swords Celtic, this result means the North Dublin side have now opened up a four point gap in second place in the league table. Joe Quinn nabbed his first of the campaign, Maurice Dunne scored his sixteenth of the season from the penalty spot with top scorer Ciaran McGettigan firing home his twenty first of the campaign.Midweek action for the Juniors started on Tuesday night with the under 12A's recording an excellent 4-0 away win over Arklow Utd, Mark Hodgkinson scored twice with Tom Hodgkinson and Jordan Younger firing home one each to keep them very much in the hunt for a place in the premier shield final. The 12C's went down to a very strong St Patricks side, in truth the girls gave a hundred percent but the physically bigger Avoca side were just too strong. Our 13B's put themselves in pole position to make it to their shield final when they made it five wins from five when they defeated league champions elect St Anthonys in their own backyard. Ben Free and Noah Sheridan both nabbed a brace each with Scott Bushe and Luke Horan scoring one a piece in a fantastic 6-2 win, this was an excellent all round team performance from the lads. Our 13A's sealed their place in the under 14 division 1 shield final when they narrowly defeated Newtown Juniors 2-1 in the Whitegates, this was a close game which could have went either way. After falling one behind Rovers came out in the second half to score twice through Adam O'Reilly and Harry Hodgkinson to claim all three points and a place in the final against Roundwood. The under 15's good form of late came to an end on Tuesday when they lost 5-0 away to Wolfe Tone, the lads never really reached the high standards they have set themselves of late as the Bray side ran out deserved winners. On Wednesday the under 13C's lost 3-1 to local neighbours Wicklow Town, in an exciting tussle the Town came out on top with both sides having plenty of chances, Ethan Allen scored the Rovers goal on the night. Thursday saw our under 12A's secure three very important points in the premier shield when they defeated Wolfe Tone 4-1, Tom Hodgkinson hit a brace, Conor Hunter hit a single with Sean O'Meara firing home from the penalty spot to complete the scoring. This result means the lads leapfrog their opponents in the group. If it was goals you were looking for Thursday night in the Whitegates was the place to be, our under 15's were involved in an eleven goal thriller with Wolfe Tone. Unfortunately for the lads they unluckily lost out 6-5 in a highly entertaining game to the same opponents that beat them 5-0 on Tuesday. Jack Colaluca smashed in a well taken hat-trick, Luke Kelly and Philip Power scored one a piece in a game that kept the watching public on the edge of their seats right till the very end.Weekend action on the junior front was at a minimum, the 12B’s lost 3-1 to table toppers Carnew in a game that didn’t affect the lads standing in the group but was a good work out for their up coming cup final, Rory Hannon scored his third of the season for Rovers in this game. Congratulations to our under 14B’s who powered their way to the division two shield final when they defeated second placed Arklow Town C 4-3 in Lamberton. They have now won eleven and drawn two of their thirteen games with one game remaining. This game saw top scorer Thomas O’Neill bring his tally for the season to an incredible 46 goals after scoring all four Rovers goals. This was a great team display and a well deserved final to look forward to, well done to the team, their manager Paul O’Brien and trainer Robbie Dover.At the time of going to print our senior ladies team will have kicked off their season, everyone at Wicklow Rovers would like to wish Mandy and her girls the first best of luck for the new season. The girls will play most of their games on Monday nights so if your looking for something to do why not come along and give the girls who are giving so much to the club a bit of support, they would be delighted to see you there to cheer them on. Good luck girls.Also we would like to wish our under 12B’s, 13A’s, 13B’s, 16A’s and 16B’s the very best of luck in their cup finals this coming weekend, good luck to everyone and enjoy the occasion. Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 29th MAY 2016

On the senior front it was left to our senior ladies to provide the action as they kicked off their season in the Dublin Women’s Football League. Unfortunately for the girls they got off to a losing start away to Brookfield losing 4-0. The girls performance didn’t warrant a four goal deficit as they put in a good shift and probably should have been a lot closer on the scoreboard. As this was their first game of the season and there’s plenty of football to go I’m sure there will be better days ahead.On the junior front Tuesday’s action saw the under 13A’s defeat Arklow Town 6-3 in Lamberton in the under 14 division 1 shield, with their place in the final already assured this was a good workout for the lads prior to their cup and shield finals. Connor Lewins hit an excellent hat-trick, Max Kearney fired home a brace with Luke Dease completing the scoring with a single. The under 15’s played a thrilling local derby with neighbours Rathnew with the spoils been shared in a 2-2 draw, in a game that swung from end to end a draw was probably a fair result in the end. Jack O’Gorman scored his first of the season with Nathan Wynne nabbing his tenth. Also on Tuesday the under 16B’s made it to the final of the division 1 shield final when they got the required result in defeating their closest challengers St Patricks in their own backyard. Daniel Fitzsimons notched two while Conor Byrne and Sean Leonard scored one each in a 4-2 victory which earns the lads a place in the final against Greystones Utd, well done to John, Matt and the lads. Thursday nights action saw our under 15’s have a repeat of Tuesday’s game when they took on Rathnew for the second time in two days. This time Rathnew ran our 5-3 winners in another thriller, after scoring his first of the season on Tuesday Jack O’Gorman popped up for his second of the season, Philip Power also nabbed his second of the campaign with top scorer Ryan Murphy completing the scoring.On Saturday our under 12B’s went down 3-0 to Newtown Juniors in the division 1 cup final, in a fairly even first half there was nothing separating the sides at the interval. Newtown fired two quick fire goals in the early stages of the second half to go two up and added a third in the dying minutes to seal their victory. The lads gave it their all on the day but a special mention goes to Rory Hennessey who pulled off three top class saves in the game, well done to everyone involved on reaching the final.On Sunday our under 13B’s stormed to the division 1 cup when they defeated Roundwood 6-0 in the final. The lads controlled this game for large periods, after a slow start the lads got on top and fired home three goals in a ten minute spell. The lads were clinical in front of goal with goal of the game coming from left back Mark Evans who lobbed the keeper from just inside his opponents half to make it 2-0, Ben Free fired home a double with David Lally, Lee Hamilton and Noah Sheridan registering singles. This was an excellent all round team performance with every player in the squad playing his part. Congratulations to Rob, Colm and the lads on a well deserved success and good luck in your up coming shield final. In the under 16 premier cup final it was an all Rovers final with the A’s playing the B’s [our under 15A’s]. The B’s definitely put it up to their older club mates and even had the cheek to take the lead through an excellently dispatched free from Sean Leonard. The A’s levelled through Luca Rampersaud with seven minutes remaining to send it to extra time. The game eventually went to the dreaded penalty shootout which the A’s came out on top by a score of 7-6. Well done to the A’s on their win, also well done to the B’s who put in a tremendous effort.Congratulations to our under 10 green team who were runners up in the Friendship cup in Belfast where they lost to Swansea City in the final. On the way to the final the lads defeated Aquinas FC, Ballymena Utd, East Coast Strikers, St Marys, Phoenix Dublin and Roe Valley FC with their only defeat coming at the hands of Oxford Utd. Well done to Ian, Dixie and the lads on a great achievement.The dates for our annual summer soccer camp are week 1 from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, week 2 from Monday 11th July to Friday 15th July. The camps will run from 10 am to 3 pm daily, each participant will receive a jersey, ball and a medal. The cost of the camp is €65 with discount for a family with two or more kids. There will also be a girls only section in the camp. All participants should bring a packed lunch, a drink, boots, shin guards and a rain jacket. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098 or Willie O'Brien at 086-1696911. Alternatively you can contact any committee member or message the club Facebook page. Registration forms can be downloaded from the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 5th JUNE 2016

On the senior front our senior ladies team were involved in a very exciting tussle with Dundrum FC in the Whitegates last week. Dundrum have dropped down a couple of leagues so this was always going to be a tough assignment for the girls. Rovers were the quickest out of the traps and were rewarded with the opening goal when Niamh O'Brien was quick to react with a neat finish to put the girls one up. The Dublin side were back on level terms soon after but the girls didn't let this get them down, they took the game to their opponents forcing their keeper into a couple of good saves. Rovers keeper Tara Quinn came to her sides rescue on a couple of occasions when she produced two excellent saves. The girls went in front for the second time when Rachel ''The goal machine'' Bolger opened her account for the season when she cut in from the right leaving the defenders in her wake before powerfully blasting past the advancing keeper. Rovers went in at the break 2-1 up, a lead that was fully deserved on their first half performance. The Dublin side came out in the second half fully intent on pushing Rovers back and that's exactly what they did. They camped in Rovers half and it was Saoirse O'Reilly at the heart of the Rovers defence that intervened with some strong and well timed challenges to keep them at bay, when they did find a way past Tara Quinn was inspired pulling off two good saves. Eventually the pressure did tell and Dundrum levelled the game with a header from a corner. Dundrum added another couple of goals to race into a 4-2 lead. To the girls credit they never dropped their heads and they battled their way back into the game when the goal machine Rachel Bolger scored her second and Rovers third to make the last few minutes tense. Try that the girls did they couldn't breach the Dundrum defence again but on this performance there is definitely better days ahead for the team. On the night everyone gave it their all but a special mention goes to Tara Quinn who pulled off four excellent saves and Saoirse O'Reilly who was tower of strength at the heart of the Rovers defence.Midweek junior action saw our under 15's lose 4-1 away to Ashford Rovers, in a typical end of season clash the lads never really got going in this game, under 14 player Jack Fox scored their goal. Hard luck to our under 13A's who lost 2-0 in the under 14 division 1 shield final. The lads playing a year above their natural age group gave it everything against their older opponents but at no stage did they get the rub of the green. They have also captured runners up in their own league as well as this competition with the final of the premier cup to come (fixed for last night) we wish the lads the best of luck in the final.The weekend saw mixed fortunes for our sides in finals, the under 14B’s were 4-0 winners in the final of the division 2 shield, the lads were very impressive in their victory over Aughrim, a well taken hat-trick from Thomas O’Neill and a single from Tom O’Shea were their goalscorers on the day in what was a very impressive squad performance, congratulations tp Paul O’Brien, Robbie Dover and the team on a great season. The under 16A’s missed out on the treble when they went down 3-0 to Arklow Town, the lads never reached the high standards they have set themselves over the course of the season but they have had an excellent season capturing the premier league and cup double, well done to everyone involved. Our under 15’s finished off their season in style when they defeated St Anthonys 5-2 in the Rocky Road, fresh from his victory with the 14B’s yesterday Tom O’Shea hit a brace, Luke Kelly, Luke Durac McGowan and Ryan Murphy all hit one each.The dates for our annual summer soccer camp are week 1 from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, week 2 from Monday 11th July to Friday 15th July. The camps will run from 10 am to 3 pm daily, each participant will receive a jersey, ball and a medal. The cost of the camp is €65 with discount for a family with two or more kids. There will also be a girls only section in the camp. All participants should bring a packed lunch, a drink, boots, shin guards and a rain jacket. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098 or Willie O'Brien at 086-1696911. Alternatively you can contact any committee member or message the club Facebook page. Registration forms can be downloaded from the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com There will be a registration day taking place in the clubhouse at the Whitegates on Saturday the 10th of June from 11 till 12 for anyone who is interested in taking part in the club's annual soccer/fun camp.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 12th JUNE 2016

Shamrock Park in Rathnew was the place to be on Tuesday night as both our under 12A's and 13A's were in Premier Cup Final action. First up was the 12A's and what a performance they gave. They gave every ounce of energy to the cause playing some great football against an excellent Arklow Town A side. It was Rovers who took the game to league champions Arklow and were probably a little unlucky not to go in at the break at least a goal up. Sean O'Meara and Tom Hodgkinson both went close with efforts with Hodgkinson a persistent torment to the Arklow rearguard. There was very little between these two teams. It was going to take something special to win this game and that's what happened when Arklow scored a wonder goal with just a few minutes left on the clock. Credit to Rovers they never gave up but luck wasn't with them on the night. Congratulations to Arklow Town on their cup success. Hard luck to Colin, Jenny and the lads, you done yourselves proud with an excellent performance, everyone gave two hundred percent and with a little luck it might have swung our way. Wicklow Rovers under 12A's and everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to wish Arklow Town player Adam Lacey a speedy recovery from an injury he sustained in Tuesday's final, get well soon Adam. The under 13A's also took on Arklow Town A in their Premier Cup Final and these two sides know each other inside out. Over the years it is either one or the other that takes the honours and with Arklow already claiming the league title the lads went out determined to grab the cup. In a highly competitive game with no quarter given it was Rovers who drew first blood when Sam Brown fired them ahead, a lead they maintained till the interval. The second period saw the early stages of the half very even with action going from end to end. The lads increased their lead after forty minutes when Sam Brown's cross found Mark O'Brien on the edge of the eighteen yard box who fired an unstoppable thunderbolt to the top right hand corner of the net, a goal worthy of winning any cup final. Arklow gave themselves hope when they pulled one back with a quarter of an hour to go. Arklow piled the pressure on the Rovers back line with Rovers looking dangerous on the break. The Rovers rearguard held firm with Andrew Nolan also making a couple of good saves as the lads saw out the remaining minutes to claim a well deserved victory. It was hard to pick a man of the match as every player was excellent on the night, they battled for every ball and when they lost it they made sure they battled back to win it for their team, a big cheer echoed around Shamrock Park when team captain Luke Dease received the trophy. Congratulations to Jerry, Mick and the lads on a great season. On Friday the under 12A’s played their second final of the week and were very unlucky to lose out 2-1 after extra time to Arklow Town A, Tom Hodgkinson scored their goal with every player giving a hundred percent on the night, congratulations to Colin, Jenny and the lads on a great season. Our under 13B's who are already assured of their place in the division 1 shield final defeated Greystones United 2-1 in the Rocky Road on Wednesday night, Ben Free and David Lally hit their goals. On Sunday they played their last group game away to Coolboy Rgrs losing 3-1 with David Lally scoring their goal, what this result means the lads must wait till Greystones and Coolboy play-off to see who they will meet in the final.The club are currently inviting applicants for the following managerial positions within the club for the 2016/17 season: 1. Leinster Senior First Team; 2. Leinster Senior Second Team; 3. Under 18 Team. Anyone interested in the above positions should contact club secretary Rob Free for an application form at 085-8153424 or by email at robfreemax@gmail.com Closing dates for the above applications is Friday the 1st of July.The dates for our annual summer soccer camp are week 1 from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, week 2 from Monday 11th July to Friday 15th July. The camps will run from 10 am to 3 pm daily, each participant will receive a jersey, ball and a medal. The cost of the camp is €65 with discount for a family with two or more kids. There will also be a girls only section in the camp. All participants should bring a packed lunch, a drink, boots, shin guards and a rain jacket. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098 or Willie O'Brien at 086-1696911. Alternatively you can contact any committee member or message the club Facebook page. Registration forms can be downloaded from the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com Keep an eye on our club facebook page for dates on registration days.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 19th JUNE 2016

Well believe it or not we still have action on the playing field going on, here we are at the tail end of June and still some teams are trying to complete their season. On Thursday night our under 11 green team went down 5-3 to Newtown Juniors in a premier shield play-off game for the right to play St Anthonys in the final. After the game finished in an exciting 3-3 draw it was onto extra time where Newtown scored two without reply. The lads put it up to league champions Newtown in a game that could have went either way. Oscar Malcomson, Louis Malcomson and Jack Noble were the Rovers marksmen on the night, the lads gave it their all against a very good Newtown side, hard luck to Gerry and the lads. Sunday saw our under 16B’s play Greystones Utd in the final of the division 1 shield, our 16B’s are playing a year above their natural age group and have had a fantastic season. After finishing third in the premier league they then claimed runners up in the premier cup against their club mates the ‘A’ team. Sunday saw them cap off a terrific campaign when they won the shield defeating Greystones 4-2, top scorer Daniel Fitzsimons fired home two goals with Sean Leonard and Luke Whyte notching one a piece. The lads were always in control of the game racing into a 2-0 with goals from Fitzsimons and Whyte, after the break they went 3-0 up when Leonard fired home. Greystones pulled one back but Fitzsimons made sure there was no comeback on the cards when he nabbed his thirty fifth of the season and Rovers fourth to kill off the game. Greystones did get a second but Rovers ran out deserved winners. Congratulations to John, Matt and the lads on a very successful season.The club are currently inviting applicants for the following managerial positions within the club for the 2016/17 season: 1. Leinster Senior First Team; 2. Leinster Senior Second Team; 3. Under 18 Team. Anyone interested in the above positions should contact club secretary Rob Free for an application form at 085-8153424 or by email at robfreemax@gmail.com Closing dates for the above applications is Friday the 1st of July.The dates for our annual summer soccer camp are week 1 from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, week 2 from Monday 11th July to Friday 15th July. The camps will run from 10 am to 3 pm daily, each participant will receive a jersey, ball and a medal. The cost of the camp is €65 with discount for a family with two or more kids. There will also be a girls only section in the camp. All participants should bring a packed lunch, a drink, boots, shin guards and a rain jacket. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098 or Willie O'Brien at 086-1696911. Alternatively you can contact any committee member or message the club Facebook page. Registration forms can be downloaded from the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com There is a registration day this coming Saturday morning the 25th June in the clubhouse from 11 till 12.The dates have been released for the clubs open training sessions and trials for all our junior teams for the 2016/17 season, all open training sessions and trials will take place in the Whitegates from 7pm till 8pm. The dates are as follows: Under 8’s [Born 2009/10] are on Monday 11th July; Under 9’s [Born 2008] are on Monday 11th July; Under 10’s [Born 2007] are on Tuesday 12th July; Under 11’s [Born 2006] are on Wednesday 13th July; Under 12’s [Born 2005] are on Thursday 14th July; Under 13’s [Born 2004] are on Friday 15th July; Under 14’s [Born 2003] are on Friday 22nd July; Under 15’s [Born 2002] are on Wednesday 20th July and Under 16’s [Born 2001] are on Thursday 21st July. If any player is away on holidays while the above sessions are taking place please inform any committee member.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coaches Johnny Dunne and Robbie Dover. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 26th JUNE 2016

Well finally we have came to a conclusion on the playing field in the junior section of the club and what a thrilling conclusion it was. Our under 13B’s were taking on Coolboy Rangers in the final of the division one shield in Vartry Park, home of Roundwood AFC in midweek action to bring the curtain down on our junior section. Normal time failed to separate the two teams with the final score at the end of ordinary time tied at 2-2. This was an excellent game of football with both sides playing their part, two Luke Horan goals ensured Rovers would keep their shield hopes alive and send the game to extra time. In extra time both sides had their chances but it wasn’t until the dying seconds that one of those chances were taken, thankfully for the lads it was Ben Free who popped up with the decisive goal in the last minute giving their opponents little time to reply. The lads ran out 3-2 winners in a thrilling encounter in what was a great advert for football, an excellent sporting occasion. Congratulations to Rob, Colm and the team on their successful season capturing a fantastic double winning both the division one cup and shield, well done lads.The club are currently inviting applicants for the following managerial positions within the club for the 2016/17 season: 1. Leinster Senior First Team; 2. Leinster Senior Second Team; 3. Under 18 Team. Anyone interested in the above positions should contact club secretary Rob Free for an application form at 085-8153424 or by email at robfreemax@gmail.com Closing dates for the above applications is this Friday the 1 st of July.The dates for our annual summer soccer camp are week 1 from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, week 2 from Monday 11th July to Friday 15th July. The camps will run from 10 am to 3 pm daily, each participant will receive a jersey, ball and a medal. The cost of the camp is €65 with discount for a family with two or more kids. There will also be a girls only section in the camp. All participants should bring a packed lunch, a drink, boots, shin guards and a rain jacket. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098 or Willie O'Brien at 086-1696911. Alternatively you can contact any committee member or message the club Facebook page. Registration forms can be downloaded from the club website at www.wicklowrovers.comThe dates have been released for the clubs open training sessions and trials for all our junior teams for the 2016/17 season, all open training sessions and trials will take place in the Whitegates from 7pm till 8pm. The dates are as follows: Under 8’s [Born 2009/10] are on Monday 11th July; Under 9’s [Born 2008] are on Monday 11th July; Under 10’s [Born 2007] are on Tuesday 12th July; Under 11’s [Born 2006] are on Wednesday 13th July; Under 12’s [Born 2005] are on Thursday 14th July; Under 13’s [Born 2004] are on Friday 15th July; Under 14’s [Born 2003] are on Friday 22nd July; Under 15’s [Born 2002] are on Wednesday 20th July and Under 16’s [Born 2001] are on Thursday 21st July. If any player is away on holidays while the above sessions are taking place please inform any committee member.The club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coaches Johnny Dunne and Robbie Dover. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 3rd JULY 2016

Our senior ladies team went down 5-2 away to Firhouse Carmel in the first round of the DWSL shield last week, the girls definitely didn't get the rub of the green in this game with nothing going their way at any stage during the match. To their credit they never dropped their heads and battled right up to the final whistle. Crucial decisions went against them at important times throughout the match. Rachel "The Goal Machine" Bolger fired home both Rovers goals. On the night Rachel, Charmaine Higgins and Bridget O'Reilly who was playing her first game between the posts were excellent for Rovers. Finally we would like to wish Rachel a speedy recovery from a knee injury she suffered in the game.The dates for our annual summer soccer camp are week 1 from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, week 2 from Monday 11th July to Friday 15th July. The camps will run from 10 am to 3 pm daily, each participant will receive a jersey, ball and a medal. The cost of the camp is €65 with discount for a family with two or more kids. There will also be a girls only section in the camp. All participants should bring a packed lunch, a drink, boots, shin guards and a rain jacket. Anyone interested in taking part should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098 or Willie O'Brien at 086-1696911. Alternatively you can contact any committee member or message the club Facebook page. Registration forms can be downloaded from the club website at www.wicklowrovers.comThe dates have been released for the clubs open training sessions and trials for all our junior teams for the 2016/17 season, all open training sessions and trials will take place in the Whitegates from 7pm till 8pm. The dates are as follows: Under 8’s [Born 2009/10] are on Monday 11th July; Under 9’s [Born 2008] are on Monday 11th July; Under 10’s [Born 2007] are on Tuesday 12th July; Under 11’s [Born 2006] are on Wednesday 13th July; Under 12’s [Born 2005] are on Thursday 14th July; Under 13’s [Born 2004] are on Friday 15th July; Under 14’s [Born 2003] are on Friday 22nd July; Under 15’s [Born 2002] are on Wednesday 20th July and Under 16’s [Born 2001] are on Thursday 21st July. If any player is away on holidays while the above sessions are taking place please inform any committee member.The senior men’s teams are returning to training on Tuesday 12th July and Thursday 14th July, training will take place in the Rocky Road on both nights starting at 7.15pm. Anyone interested in playing for the club in the Leinster Senior League for the 2016/17 season should come along to these training sessions. All players welcome, present, past and new players welcome. Anyone interested in playing and can’t make either training sessions due to prior commitments should contact any committee member or privately message the club on the club’s facebook page.The club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.Wicklow Rovers AFC promote soccer for schoolboys/girls, youths and seniors men and ladies in the community, our club is growing all the time and any assistance with the help of running the club would be very much appreciated. At present we have a very hard working committee but we are always on the look out for people interested in helping out, the club are always on the look out for people who are interested in getting involved in soccer, whether its coaching and managing or on the executive committee or a sub committee, maybe you would just like to help as an assistant manager, help with fundraising or help just around the grounds or in anyway at all, don’t hesitate, get involved, anyone interested in helping out the club in anyway can contact any committee member. So if your interested in doing some work around the club please contact any of the following committee members, John Frazer, Paul Delaney, Johnny Dunne, Franny Copeland, Jimmy Nolan, Rob Free, Willie O’Brien. Jason Harris and Mandy O’Neill, contact numbers can be found on the club website or alternatively you can private message our club facebook page. For all news regarding the club, visit the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or visit the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 10th JULY 2016

There were goals a plenty in the Whitegates last week when our senior ladies took on another team who have dropped down to their league in the shape of Enniskerry. The girls lost 10-5 but in truth this game could have ended up 10-10 as the girls did have other chances. Both teams looked like scoring everytime they attacked. The goal machine Rachel Bolger was at it again with a superbly taken hat-trick, the impressive Niamh O'Brien added a brace. The girls were more than a match for their opponents and never gave up, if the girls can gain that little bit more experience they will trouble most teams. On the night Niamh O'Brien, Lucy McGettigan, Saoirse O'Reilly and Hannah Cox stood out for Rovers. Heads up girls, that elusive first win is just around the corner.Well things couldn’t have gone better for the first week of our annual summer soccer/fun camp. Last week saw 102 kids participate in our camp and they were blessed with glorious sunshine for the whole week, not a drop of rain in sight. The kids had a fantastic time enjoying themselves while also picking up some useful hints in the skills of football. There were definitely a lot of potential stars of the future on show, hopefully we might have witnessed a future Ronaldo, Messi, Pogba or even a Darren Randolph. The kids were a joy to coach all week with everyone behaving to the highest standard. The club would like to thank all the kids for making the week so special, it was lovely to see them all out in their green jerseys. A massive thanks to the kids parents for their continuous support of the club, this is very much appreciated. Finally a big thanks to all our coaches who helped out during the week.With some of the open training sessions/trials for our junior section for the 2016/17 season now completed the following are the age groups and dates that are remaining to be staged, the dates are as follows: Under 11’s [Born 2006] are on Wednesday 13th July [tonight]; Under 12’s [Born 2005] are on Thursday 14th July; Under 13’s [Born 2004] are on Friday 15th July; Under 14’s [Born 2003] are on Friday 22nd July; Under 15’s [Born 2002] are on Wednesday 20th July and Under 16’s [Born 2001] are on Thursday 21st July. All open training sessions/trials will take place in the Whitegates from 7pm to 8pm. If any player is away on holidays while the above sessions are taking place please inform any committee member. The senior men’s teams have returned to training this week, at the moment they train on Tuesdays and Thursdays, training will take place in the Rocky Road on both nights starting at 7.15pm. Anyone interested in playing for the club in the Leinster Senior League for the 2016/17 season should come along to these training sessions. All players welcome, present, past and new players welcome. Anyone interested in playing and can’t make the early training sessions due to prior commitments should contact any committee member or privately message the club on the club’s facebook page.The club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.The club have recently set up a fundraising sub-committee, as we have a small executive committee it is not possible for this small group of people to carry out everything regards the running of the club. These people are at their maximum capacity regards work they are doing for the club. We would ask new people to put themselves forward and come onto this very important sub-committee to help our club make the progress we all would like to see. If you are interested in helping your club out please contact any committee member so we can put your name forward. Remember just don’t assume someone else is going to do it, come along and help your club. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Veronica McCann who sadly passed away recently. Her grandson Adam played for our under 13A team in the season just finished, our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this sad time. May she rest in peace.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, visit the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or visit the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 17th JULY 2016

The senior ladies travelled to take on Mourne Celtic last week and unfortunately they lost out on a 3-1 scoreline. To say the girls were unlucky is an under statement. In a game where the girls were excellent they were undone by some strange decisions. The girls gave it everything but sometimes things outside your control go against you. Rachel " The Goal Machine " Bolger fired home the Rovers goal. Lucy McGettigan was excellent up front in the first half and continued to impress when she moved into the middle of the park. Charmine Higgins was outstanding driving her team on with Chloe Brennan impressing on her return to action in her first game of the season. Hard luck girls but by all accounts every player gave a hundred percent and soon or later you will get the rewards your efforts deserve.Last week we had our second week of our annual soccer/fun camp, it was an amazing turn out with 140 kids taking part in week 2, everyone had a fantastic time. Again the weather was very kind to us with the sun shining down every day. We had some potential stars of the future on show with the kids displaying great skills through out the week. The club would like to thank all the kids who conducted themselves to the highest standard all week while having fun. A big thanks to the parents of the kids for your continuous support, it’s very much appreciated. The club would like to say a big thanks to club president Anthony Earls and one of our junior managers Charlie Mitchell who were on hand every day over the two weeks of our summer camp to give a hand where needed. Also a big thanks to Mandy O'Neill who looked after the ordering of gear while also helping throughout the two weeks when called on. Thanks to all our coaches for all their work over the duration of the camp. Thanks to Anne O'Neill who stepped in for the last two days at short notice. Thanks Mandy, Anne, Anthony, Charlie and all the coaches.Due to popular demand and our highly successful summer football /fun camp the club have decided to hold an extra week before the kids head back to school. The camp will run from Monday 15th August to Friday 19th August in the Whitegates, it will run from 10am to 2pm daily. The camp is open to kids from 4 years old to 13 years old. Every participant will receive a ball and medal. The cost of the camp is €45. Each participant should bring a packed lunch, drink, rain jacket, football boots and shin guards. For registration forms or further information please contact Johnny Dunne 087-7802098, Robbie Dover 087-3621049 or any committee member.The senior men have resumed training in the last week in preparation for the upcoming 2016/17 season, training takes place in the Rocky Road every Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7.15pm. Everyone welcome, present, past and new players welcome.The club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coaches Johnny Dunne and Robbie Dover. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to wish last season's under 12A top goalscorer Conor Hunter a speedy recovery from a broken collar bone injury he suffered recently, we all hope your on the mend and back to full fitness soon and ready for the start of the new season, get well soon Conor.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 24th JULY 2016

Well last week saw our senior ladies team register their first win of the season and what a way to do it. Shankill came to the Whitegates with four wins and a draw in their first five games so the girls knew they were in for a tough match. The away side started off the better putting Rovers under pressure from the off. The first twenty five minutes solely belonged to the away side with Rovers limited to the odd break away. Saoirse O'Reilly was a rock at the centre of the Rovers defence, she came to her side's rescue on numerous occasions throwing her body on the line to block shots, her reading of the game was excellent as she intercepted most of the away team's attacking play. Rovers worked their way into the game and took the lead when the goal machine Rachel Bolger fired home. Shankill levelled soon after but the home side retook the lead when the impressive Niamh O'Brien scored. The impressive Rovers team were now showing plenty of confidence as they attacked their opponents, Saoirse O'Reilly took the ball out of defence and played a defence splitting pass to Rachel Bolger who clinically fired into the bottom left hand corner. Lucy McGettigan was outstanding in her display in the engine room in the middle of the park covering every blade of grass, with thirteen minutes left Niamh O'Brien won the ball out on the right, she cut in leaving two defenders in her wake before powerfully blasting past the advancing keeper into the roof of the net. The goal of the game came in the dying minutes when Niamh O'Brien completed her hat-trick when she showed Messi like skills as she dragged the ball past the defender and then delicately chipped the keeper. The girls ran out 5-1 winners. This was an excellent performance from the girls. Two days later the girls went down 7-2 to an excellent Shankill side. Only 48 hours earlier the girls defeated the same opposition 5-1 in the league which just goes to show there's an element of truth in the saying "That football is a funny old game". The girls were down a couple of regulars but to be honest they never reached the heights of their previous game. Rachel "Goal Machine" Bolger gave Rovers the lead but that's as good as it got. One of the Shankill player s had to be removed to hospital after a nasty looking injury. This seemed to galvanize the away side as for the rest of the game they totally dominated proceedings hitting Rovers for seven. The girls huffed and puffed but made very little inroads on the Shankill defence. When they did break through it was yet again the prolific Rachel Bolger who found the back of the net for her second of the game. This was a disappointing result for Rovers after such an impressive display on the Monday night but a lot of credit has to be given to the Shankill girls as they came out with the determination and attitude of rectifying the result from Monday. On the night Rovers best players were two players who went into the game carrying niggling injuries, yet again Saoirse O'Reilly led by example, her determination and will to win was second to none and was definitely Rovers best player on the night while up front Rachel Bolger proves yet again how valuable she is to the team with another brace of goals to her tally. Finally everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to wish Hannah from the Shankill team a speedy recovery from the injury she picked up in the game, we all wish you well and hope your back on the playing pitch very soon. Due to popular demand and our highly successful summer football /fun camp the club have decided to hold an extra week before the kids head back to school. The camp will run from Monday 15th August to Friday 19th August in the Whitegates, it will run from 10am to 2pm daily. The camp is open to kids from 4 years old to 13 years old. Every participant will receive a ball and medal. The cost of the camp is €45. Each participant should bring a packed lunch, drink, rain jacket, football boots and shin guards. For registration forms or further information please contact Johnny Dunne 087-7802098, Robbie Dover 087-3621049 or any committee member.The senior men have resumed training in the last week in preparation for the upcoming 2016/17 season, training takes place in the Rocky Road every Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7.15pm. Everyone welcome, present, past and new players welcome.The club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 31st JULY 2016

Our senior ladies took on Firhouse Carmel in the Whitegates last week in what proved to be a highly entertaining game with both sides playing some attractive football. Rovers were first to threaten when Rachel Bolger fired narrowly wide after two minutes. A minute later Rovers went in front when Niamh O'Brien raced onto a through ball to coolly slot the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net. On the quarter hour mark the away side levelled matters when they fired home in a crowded goalmouth scramble. It was 1-1 and all to play for, both sides had half chances to go in front but neither side could capitilise. After thirty minutes Niamh O'Brien notched number two with a copy cat finish of the opening goal to make it 2-1. A minute later it could have been three when Louise Johnson put Rachel Bolger in but she was denied by the keeper. Five minutes before the break Natasha Fitzgerald put the "goal machine" Bolger in on goal who clinically finished with a neat lob over the keeper for her thirteenth goal of the season to send the girls in 3-1 up at the break. The second half saw the away side make the early running putting Rovers under severe pressure. The back four of Anne O'Neill, Saoirse O'Reilly, Louise Johnson and Nicolle Hubbard were excellent and were in no mood to be breached. When they did find away past the Rovers rearguard they found Charmaine Higgins in the Rovers goal in inspired form topped off by a top class save on fifty four minutes to push the ball away at full stretch to preserve a two goal cushion for the girls. With fifteen minutes remaining Hannah Cox out on the right sent Niamh O'Brien away on the right, O'Brien won the race with the last defender and then coolly rounded the keeper to tap home Rovers fourth and complete her hat-trick on the night to bring her tally for the season to nine. Firhouse scored their second with four minutes left with a fierce shot from the left side of the area. Rovers saw out the remainder of the game to run out 4-2 winners in what was a highly entertaining and sporting encounter. Every player played their part in a very good win, on the night Charmaine Higgins in the Rovers goal was excellent, the rearguard of Anne O'Neill, Saoirse O'Reilly, Louise Johnson and Nicolle Hubbard were rock solid with Natasha Fitzgerald on the left side of midfield been very effective when defending and attacking. A special mention goes to Anna Doyle who came on and made two very important interceptions. Overall it was a tremendous team display from the girls. Also well done to team manager Mandy O'Neill who is putting in such great work and giving a lot of time to the girl’s team. Due to popular demand and our highly successful summer football /fun camp the club have decided to hold an extra week before the kids head back to school. The camp will run from Monday 15th August to Friday 19th August in the Whitegates, it will run from 10am to 2pm daily. The camp is open to kids from 4 years old to 13 years old. Every participant will receive a ball and medal. The cost of the camp is €45. Each participant should bring a packed lunch, drink, rain jacket, football boots and shin guards. For registration forms or further information please contact Johnny Dunne 087-7802098, Robbie Dover 087-3621049 or any committee member.The club are currently seeking a manager for our under 15A's, anyone interested in the position should contact club secretary Rob Free at 085-8153424, alternatively anyone interested in the position can privately message the club on our club Facebook page.Its back, the club’s Last Man Standing competition is back. With the premiership season due to kick off on Saturday 13th August the club have decided to bring back our popular Last Man Standing competition. The competition will start on the weekend of Friday the 16th of September. This will give our participants a chance to see how teams are faring in the early weeks of the season before they make their first selection. Registration forms will be sent out to all club members in the coming weeks, competition is open to everyone, members and non-members. Anyone interested in entering the competition can do so by contacting any committee member, club member or privately messaging our club facebook page. Entry fee is €10 with the winner claiming the €500 prize fund. Why not have a go, test your premiership knowledge and if things go your way you could claim the €500 prize fund. A full list of rules can be viewed on our club website at www.wicklowrovers.com

Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.com

For all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 7th AUGUST 2016

Due to popular demand and our highly successful summer football/fun camp the club have decided to hold an extra week before the kids head back to school. The camp will run from Monday 15th August to Friday 19th August in the Whitegates, it will run from 10am to 2pm daily. The camp is open to kids from 4 years old to 13 years old. Every participant will receive a ball and medal. The cost of the camp is €45. Each participant should bring a packed lunch, drink, rain jacket, football boots and shin guards. For registration forms or further information please contact Johnny Dunne 087-7802098, Robbie Dover 087-3621049 or any committee member.Its back, the club’s Last Man Standing competition is back. With the premiership season due to kick off on Saturday 13th August the club have decided to bring back our popular Last Man Standing competition. The competition will start on the weekend of Friday the 16th of September. This will give our participants a chance to see how teams are faring in the early weeks of the season before they make their first selection. Registration forms will be sent out to all club members in the coming weeks, competition is open to everyone, members and non-members. Anyone interested in entering the competition can do so by contacting any committee member, club member or privately messaging our club facebook page. Entry fee is €10 with the winner claiming the €500 prize fund. Why not have a go, test your premiership knowledge and if things go your way you could claim the €500 prize fund. A full list of rules can be viewed on our club website at www.wicklowrovers.comThe club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.The club are currently looking for a manager for our under 12C team, the team has been formed due to the large numbers at the open training sessions for this age group. Anyone interested in this position should contact club secretary Rob Free at 085-8153424 as soon as possible.With the new season fast approaching the club would like all teams within the club to please not use the Whitegates pitch for their warm up prior to their training sessions on the all weather pitch. It has been noted that some teams are using the main pitch for warming up and training, we would please ask you not to use the main pitch for any part of your training, thank you. Also all managers should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098 regards availability of our home pitches at the Whitegates, Rocky Road and the Hockey pitch for any matches or training, managers should not just assume the pitch is available. Also all managers should summit their preferred training time slots to the Sports and Development committee as soon as possible. It’s requested that each manager gives two time slots [a first preference and second preference slots] and the club will do their best to try to fit everyone in. No slot is guaranteed.For all your club gear you must contact Mandy O’Neill who is running our club shop, everything regards club gear goes through Mandy and no one else. You can contact Mandy at 087-7924649 and she will only be too glad to discuss all details with you.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coaches Johnny Dunne and Robbie Dover. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years. Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.com

For all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 14th AUGUST 2016

Our senior ladies were in action away to Terenure last week, after a tremendous display from the whole team the girls were delivered a cruel blow in the 89th minute when the home side nabbed the winner to win 3-2. Rovers were slow to get into their stride and they were punished when the home side went 2-0 up in the first fifteen minutes. This seemed to be the spur the Rovers ladies needed, they went from been second to every ball to taking control of the game, on twenty eight minutes Niamh O'Brien fed the ball out to Rachel Bolger on the left, Rachel ran at the home defence drawing out two defenders before squaring the ball to Natasha Fitzgerald who slotted home. A minute later Rovers were level, a long ball from keeper Charmaine Higgins found Natasha Fitzgerald who sent Rachel Bolger through on goal and the "goal machine" was as lethal as ever coolly lobbing the advancing keeper to square up the match. Rovers were dealt a cruel blow in the first minute of the second period when they lost top scorer Rachel Bolger through a knee injury. The home side went close twice in a couple of minutes but they found Charmaine Higgins in the Rovers goal in inspired form pulling off two top class saves. The best chances in the second half actually fell to Rovers, first Hannah Cox found Niamh O'Brien who beat the offside trap, she rounded the keeper but her effort was cleared off the line by a covering defender. Nicole Hubbard also went close but her effort was blocked by the keeper. Two more cruel blows were delivered to the girls in the dying seconds, first Terenure scored a scrappy winner and then the girls lost influential centre back Saoirse O'Reilly through injury. Football can be a cruel game sometimes, this was a game which the girls deserved to get something from against a good Terenure side but were cruelly denied a share of the spoils and then picking up injuries to two players. In truth the girls were excellent all over the pitch but a few players come in for a special mention. Yet again Charmaine Higgins was excellent between the posts, Saoirse O'Reilly was a rock at the centre of defence forming a consistent partnership with Louise Johnson. In the middle of the park Lucy McGettigan would be a good advert for the the duracell bunny, she ran and ran and ran, she covered every blade of grass on the pitch. Finally two girls who were highly impressive tonight were Anna Doyle and Emily O'Dowd, both girls were introduced as subs, Anna came on at left full back and was equally impressive going forward as she was defending. Emily was excellent on the left side of midfield combining well with Anna to cancel out Terenure's dangerous right side. Finally we would like to send get well wishes to both Rachel and Saoirse, hope the injuries are not too bad and we see you both back on the playing field soon. Its back, the club’s Last Man Standing competition is back. With the premiership season due to kick off on Saturday 13th August the club have decided to bring back our popular Last Man Standing competition. The competition will start on the weekend of Friday the 16th of September. This will give our participants a chance to see how teams are faring in the early weeks of the season before they make their first selection. Registration forms will be sent out to all club members in the coming weeks, competition is open to everyone, members and non-members. Anyone interested in entering the competition can do so by contacting any committee member, club member or privately messaging our club facebook page. Entry fee is €10 with the winner claiming the €500 prize fund. Why not have a go, test your premiership knowledge and if things go your way you could claim the €500 prize fund. A full list of rules can be viewed on our club website at www.wicklowrovers.comThe club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.The club are currently looking for a manager for our under 12C team, the team has been formed due to the large numbers at the open training sessions for this age group. Anyone interested in this position should contact club secretary Rob Free at 085-8153424 as soon as possible.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, visit the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or visit the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 21st AUGUST 2016

Our final soccer camp of the year came to an end last Friday, unfortunately the Friday was a washout with the torrential rain causing the last day of the camp to be cancelled. The kids had a ball all week enjoying themselves while learning the skills of football under the guidance of Robbie Dover, Johnny Dunne and their band of coaches. There was no doubt that we definitely witnessed some potential stars of the future in the Whitegates last week, maybe a future Lionel Messi was weaving his magic at the Whitegates or maybe a Ronaldo was strutting his stuff or hopefully a future Shay Given was pulling off the saves that could see them have a bright future. All in all the kids seemed to enjoy themselves throughout the camp apart from the bad weather on the last day. The kids have all been invited down to the Saturday morning academy to have a kick around with the coaches and afterwards they can collect their footballs and medals. A big thanks goes to all the kids who took part in the camp, everyone listened to their coaches and were a pleasure to coach. A big thanks to Johnny Dunne, Robbie Dover, Louise Johnson, Deirbhle Geraghty, Katie O’Connor, Dylan Frazer, Jamie Power and Luca Rampersaud who all done an excellent job coaching the kids all week. Finally but not least a massive thanks goes out to all the parents, without your continuous support our camp would not be the success it is, a big thanks to you all.Its back, the club’s Last Man Standing competition is back. With the premiership season kicking off at the weekend the club have decided to bring back our popular Last Man Standing competition. The competition will start on the weekend of Friday the 16th of September. This will give our participants a chance to see how teams are faring in the early weeks of the season before they make their first selection. Registration forms have been sent out to all club members in the last couple of weeks so if you have not received yours just ask your manager, competition is open to everyone, members and non-members. Anyone interested in entering the competition can do so by contacting any committee member, club member or privately messaging our club facebook page. Entry fee is €10 with the winner claiming the €500 prize fund. Why not have a go, test your premiership knowledge and if things go your way you could claim the €500 prize fund. All entries must be submitted by Sunday 11th September. A full list of rules can be viewed on our club website at lt www.wicklowrovers.comThe club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.The club are currently seeking a small sided fixtures secretary to oversee the junior teams from under 8's to under 11's. The role involves submitting results to the league, to our club PRO and liaison with team managers regards fixtures and kick off times. The position can be an executive or non-executive role. So if you are a parent who has a child playing for the club or someone who wants to get involved with the club why not volunteer your services, for anyone that's interested in taking up this position please contact John Frazer at 087-0564394 or privately message us on the club facebook page.The club are currently looking for a manager for our under 12C team, the team has been formed due to the large numbers at the open training sessions for this age group. Anyone interested in this position should contact club secretary Rob Free at 085-8153424 as soon as possible.The club will be holding registration nights in the coming weeks, the dates for club registration is as follows: Monday 22nd August, Thursday 25th August, Monday 29th August and Thursday 1st September, all registration nights will take place in the clubhouse at the Whitegates from 7pm to 9pm.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, visit the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or visit the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 28th AUGUST 2016

The senior men's team got their Leinster Senior League campaign off to the perfect start when they claimed all three points in a tough 1-0 win away to Ardmore Rovers in Ballywaltrim last Friday night. This is a great start for the lads especially away from home, in what was a tough physical encounter it was Maurice Dunne who supplied the all important goal to get Greg Dunne's team off to a flyer. The whole team worked well together in what was a good all round team performance.Its back, the club’s Last Man Standing competition is back. With the premiership season having kicked off the club have decided to bring back our popular Last Man Standing competition. The competition will start on the weekend of Friday the 16 th of September. This will give our participants a chance to see how teams are faring in the early weeks of the season before they make their first selection. Registration forms have been sent out to all club members in the last couple of weeks so if you have not received yours just ask your manager, competition is open to everyone, members and non-members. Anyone interested in entering the competition can do so by contacting any committee member, club member or privately messaging our club facebook page. Entry fee is €10 with the winner claiming the €500 prize fund. Why not have a go, test your premiership knowledge and if things go your way you could claim the €500 prize fund. All entries must be submitted by Sunday 11 th September. A full list of rules can be viewed on our club website at www.wicklowrovers.comThe club are currently selling FAI National draw tickets, we would ask all club members to make an effort to try and sell some tickets. This could be a great fundraiser for the club if the members get behind it. Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact any committee member or any club member. Full list of the prizes can be viewed on the club facebook page. Also anyone interested in selling some tickets for the club please contact any committee member.The next club registration nights will be held in the clubhouse in the Whitegates on Monday 29th August and Thursday 1st September from 7pm to 9pm, we would ask every club member to try to make one of these nights to get themselves registered. Online payment of club membership is now also available on the home page of our club website at www.wicklowrovers.comFor all your club gear you must contact Mandy O’Neill who is running our club shop, everything regards club gear goes through Mandy and no one else. You can contact Mandy at 087-7924649 and she will only be too glad to discuss all details with you.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coaches Johnny Dunne and Robbie Dover. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

Its great to see the trees on the main road side of our main pitch at the Whitegates have been trimmed back, it now looks great as it was becoming a safety hazard. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to thank the county council who carried out the work, a massive thanks to councillor Gail Dunne who was behind getting this work carried out, it makes a big difference to the area, once again thanks to everyone involved, a special thanks to Gail for his work behind the scenes.Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Margaret (Peggy) Harrington who sadly passed away recently, our thoughts and prayers are with her two sons Dave and Eamonn who have been associated with our club over the years, her grandson Brian who was part of our intermediate team last season and with her extended family and friends at this sad time, may she rest in peace.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, visit the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or visit the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 4th SEPTEMBER 2016

The senior men played the first competitive game under the new floodlights last week when they took on one of the title favourites Enniskerry. Both sides provided some excellent attacking play in the first period with both sides having penalties saved, Alan Power put Rovers in front when he powered low into the bottom left corner. Things got better when they doubled their lead when Luke Byrne was quickest to react on a defensive error to round the keeper and slot home to make it 2-0. Just before the break Lar Newsome pulled off that excellent penalty save. The second half was a much tighter affair, the Wicklow rearguard of Jim Foley, Dave Rowan, Rikki Quinn and Paul Alexander were rock solid with keeper Newsome also at the top of his game. The away side pulled one back with fifteen minutes left but the lads held on to claim three valuable points. On Friday night the lads claimed a hard earned point in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Mullingar Athletic, they went 1-0 up when Luke Byrne fired home. The away side were level within a minute which is the way it stayed till the break. Mullingar scored two quick goals in the first ten minutes of the second half to go 3-1 up. Rovers battled back and were rewarded when Hugh Humby blasted to the roof of the net and Luke Byrne nabbed his second and Rovers third to make it 3-3 to earn a share of the spoils. Considering the lads were without four regulars and were 3-1 down this has to be seen as a point gained. On the night Lar Newsome, Jim Foley and Luke Byrne stood out for Rovers.The under 17’s went down 4-0 to Palmerstown in their first game in the DDSL, despite the lads having most of the possession through out the Dublin side were more clinical in front of goal.The junior section kicked off on Saturday and it was no surprise to see it absolutely lash out of the heavens on the very first day of the season. Despite the heavy rain on Saturday we did have some action, the 12A's recorded an excellent 3-0 away win in the premier shield against the holders St Anthonys in their own backyard. Steven Gormley, Sam Greene and Jack Noble scored the Rovers goals in a very impressive team display. Another impressive display came from our 12B's who defeated St Patricks in Kilcashel on a 4-0 scoreline. Charlie Phelan smashed home a fantastic hat-trick with Harry Tobin Kelly adding a single to claim all three points in a very clinical performance. A special mention goes to Cormac Fitzsimons who pulled off a brilliant save from a penalty at a crucial stage of the game. The 13B's got their shield campaign off to a winning start with a thrilling 3-2 away win over St Anthonys, Zak Hastie, Zach Callery and Luke Dunne all notched one a piece in what was a highly entertaining match. Our 14C's came up against a strong Coolboy side and went down 6-1, Adam Shepherd scored the lone Rovers goal, in truth the lads gave a hundred percent and could have added one or two more goals.On Sunday the 13A’s got off to a flyer with a 4-0 win over Wolfe Tone, Callum Gibney, Adam Kearns, Conor Hunter and Tom Hodgkinson all scored in a very impressive display. Our 14A’s and our 15B’s came up against each other in their first game of the season in the under 15 division 1 shield, the 14A’s ran out 3-0 winners but the game could have been a lot closer. Ross Quinn hit a brace with Adam O’Reilly scoring the other. This game was played out in a very sporting manner, well done to both sets of players and their management teams. Our 15A’s got off to a good start when they claimed all three points in a 2-0 away win over Roundwood, Paul Marah and Rory O’Brien hit the rigging for the lads. The 16A’s got their season off to a great start with a 3-0 away win over Roundwood, Sean Leonard fired in a brace with Conor Leonard hitting a single in a good all round team performance. The 16B’s drew 3-3 away to St Anthonys, Dylan Moorhouse scored two and Ryan Murphy got one in a six goal thriller which kept the watching public entertained through out.The next club registration nights will be held in the clubhouse in the Whitegates on Friday 16th September and Friday 30th September from 7pm to 9pm, we would ask every club member to try to make one of these nights to get themselves registered as this will be the fifth and sixth registration nights to be held. Online payment of club membership is now also available on the home page of our club website at www.wicklowrovers.comAll entries for our Last Man Standing competition should be in at the latest by this weekend, fixtures will be sent out on Monday 12th September to anyone whose registration has been received, thank you.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 11th SEPT 2016

On the senior front, the senior men's game away to Clondalkin Celtic was called off at the weekend. The under 17’s got their first win of their debut season in the DDSL when they defeated Cabinteely 3-2, Jack Dunne, Eli Graham and Stephen Finlay all scored one a piece in a closely fought game.In junior action during the week the 12B's traveled to Coolboy where they lost out on a narrow 1-0 scoreline. The lads controlled the game for the majority of the match but just couldn't get the all important goal. When they did eventually find the net in the dying seconds straight from a corner it was strangely ruled out for offside. The under 14B's came into direct opposition with their club mates the 'C' team. The B team ran out winners when Ethan Allen hit an excellent hat-trick, Ben Free fired in two with David Lally and Reece Doyle scoring one each. The C's battled right to the end but had no luck in front of goal.On Saturday the under 13B’s lost out 3-2 in a five goal thriller at home to Glencormac Utd, this game was end to end throughout and could have went either way, Tim Hastie nabbed both the Rovers goals. Our 14C’s went down 7-1 to a very strong Greystones Utd side, to the lads credit they gave a hundred percent and never dropped their heads with Kevin Leonard scoring their consolation goal. The under 16A’s were involved in a tight tussle with Avonmore at the Whitegates, the match ended up in a 2-2 draw with Shane Lincoln and Nathan Sullivan scoring the Rovers goals.Sunday’s action saw the under 12B’s play out an exciting 2-2 draw with Roundwood, after racing into an early two goal lead with goals from Ben Bowen and Harry Tobin Kelly they saw themselves pegged back with the away team fighting back to earn a share of the spoils. Our 13A’s continued their good start to the season with an excellent 2-0 away win over Aughrim Rgrs, Willoughby Woods and Mark Hodgkinson fired home their goals to make it two wins from two, six goals scored and none conceded. The 14A’s playing a year ahead of themselves registered their second win from two with an exciting 3-2 win over Newtown Juniors, with the game tied at 2-2 Rovers snatched a winner in the dying stages in a game that could have went either way with both sides having chances to add to their total. Ross Quinn made it four goals in two games with another brace with Eoin Doyle nabbing his first of the season. The 15A’s earned a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Coolboy Rgrs, so far the lads considering all the upheaval during the summer have got off to a decent start with a win and a draw from their first two game, Dylan Moorehouse scored their goal. The 15B’s suffered a 7-1 defeat away to Aughrim Rgrs, the home side were the more clinical in front of goal and the only answer the lads had was a Thomas O’Neill goal. Our 16B’s recorded a comfortable 9-1 victory over Aughrim Rgrs in the Rocky Road, Ryan Murphy led the way with an excellent hat-trick, Nathan Wynne, Luke Durac McGowan, Javier Rodriguez, Xavho Garcia, Brandon Aronu and Jack O’Gorman all hit single to complete the nine goal haul.The next club registration nights will be held in the clubhouse in the Whitegates this Friday 16th September and Friday 30th September from 7pm to 9pm, we would ask every club member to try to make one of these nights to get themselves registered as this will be the fifth and sixth registration nights to be held. These registration nights are for both junior and senior members. Online payment of club membership is now also available on the home page of our club website at www.wicklowrovers.comAll entries for our Last Man Standing competition should be in by this stage, fixtures were sent out on Monday last the 12th September to anyone whose registration had been received, if you didn’t receive your fixtures by now it means your Last Man Standing registration hasn’t been received. Check the Last Man Standing table on our website at www.wicklowrovers.com for updates on competitors progress.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coaches Johnny Dunne and Robbie Dover. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 18th SEPT’ 2016

Senior action in the club this week was confined to the ladies and the under 17’s. First up were the ladies as they took on Enniskerry at Berryfield, the girls went into this game against second in the table Enniskerry as complete underdogs after conceding ten goals to their opponents when they last met at the Whitegates. Add to this the girls were without top scorer Rachel ‘The Goal Machine’ Bolger and midfielder Deirbhle Geraghty plus one or two players were carrying niggles into the game, you can see the task ahead of them. The girls started well with both Niamh O’Brien and Nicole Hubbard having chances. The home team broke the deadlock with a superb strike ten minutes before the break to go in at half time one up. The second half was a very even affair with the girls more than a match for their opponents. Unfortunately for the girls they conceded two goals in the latter stages of the match to lose out 3-0. On the night it was a toss up between Lucy McGettigan and Louise Johnson for player of the match. Also impressive on the night were Niamh O’Brien, Charmaine Higgins and Saoirse O’Reilly. The under 17’s made it two wins on the bounce when they saw off Leicester Celtic 5-0 on Sunday morning. There was no doubt the lads were the best team on the day as they controlled the game from start to finish and when the chances came their way they were clinical in front of goal. Luca Rampersaud and David Ghiurcan both fired home two each with Patrick O’Keane completing the five goal haul with a single. Midweek junior action saw the 14B’s play out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Greystones Utd, David Lally fired home a brace with Ethan Allen scoring one in a highly entertaining game.Saturday’s junior action saw our under 12A’s make the long journey to Abbeyleix in Laois worth while as they made a smooth passage to round two with a comfortable 6-1 win, Kai Fitzsimons and Louis Malcomson smashed home two goals each with Oscar Malcomson and Steven Gormley adding singles in what was an excellent all round team performance. Our under 12B team came up against a very classy outfit in the shape of Kilcullen in the first round of the SFAI cup, the lads went down 9-1 but to their credit they never dropped their heads and battled right up to the final whistle. The Kildare side were very strong in every department. Rovers did however have some consolation when Ryan McConnell scored the goal of the game with a cracking effort. The under 15B's suffered a 5-2 defeat to Arklow Town A in the Rocky Road, on a pleasant day for football both teams served up some good football. Thomas O'Neill blasted home two goals to bring his tally now to three in two games.On Sunday the under 13A’s went down 2-0 to Naas in the National cup in what a very tight affair, the first half saw Rovers have the majority of the possession but they got picked off on the counter attack on two occasions. The second period saw Rovers push forward in search of a way back and they definitely had the chances to get back into the game but on the day luck wasn’t on their side. Our under 13 girls made their debut in the Metropolitan Girls League and kicked it off with an excellent 3-0 away win over Mount Merrion, this was an excellent display from the girls with team captain Katie Marah puuting in a girl of the match display driving her team on through out. Molly Sweeney helped herself to a brace with Katie Marah adding the other. The 14A’s received a walkover from Kinnegad in their National cup fixture. Our 14B’s were involved in a ten goal thriller with Roundwood with the lads coming out on top 6-4, the triple strike threat of Ben Free, Ethan Allen and David Lally were at it again with all three players scoring two each to make it fifteen goals between them in only three games. The 15A’s continued their good start to the season with a 3-0 win over Bridge Utd in the National cup, Paul Marah, Rory O’Brien and Tom O’Shea nabbed the goals to put the lads in round two.Our Last Man Standing competition competition saw no surprise exits at the weekend, maybe Man Utd’s defeat to Watford could be classed as a mild surprise. Anyway 12 players did make their exit from the competition, Man Utd [5], West Ham [3], Chelsea [1], Hull [1], Swansea [1] and Sunderland [1] were the selections that let them down. Selections that saw players progress to round 2 were Man City [70], Tottenham [60], Everton [38], Arsenal [14], Leicester [11], Crystal Palace [6] and Southampton [2]. This means we have 201 players in round 2, please remember when you receive the fixtures for round 2 you should submit your selection by 7pm on Thursday night.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 25th SEPTEMBER 2016

Yet again this week the senior men for the second week running found themselves without a game, this was because their opponents in the first round of the Leinster Junior cup New Ross Town were not able to field a team on Friday night. Elsewhere the senior ladies entertained Mourne Celtic at the Whitegates and they came out on top in a five goal thriller. Natasha Fitzgerald put them in front after ten minutes when she finished off the breaking ball from a Niamh O’Brien shot. On the half hour mark Rovers were two up, this time Natasha Fitzgerald turned provider when she put Niamh O’Brien in on goal and she duly finished. Six minutes later the visitors pulled one back but the girls quickly restored their two goal cushion when Natasha Fitzgerald latched onto a Shauna Dickenson through ball to fire past the keeper. The second half was a fairly even affair but the Dublin side did pull another back with eight minutes remaining. The girls saw out the remaining minutes to claim all three points in an excellent 3-2 win. On the night every girl in a green jersey played her part in what was an excellent all round team performance but when pushed for a player of the match there could be no argument with the choice of Nicole Hubbard at left full, Nicole was rock solid at the back, linked well with her team mates further up the field and her whole game was impressive through out.Our under 17’s recorded a comfortable 7-0 win over Templeogue Utd in the Whitegates, Stuart Cox fired home two with Jack Dunne, Luca Rampersaud, Ronan Murray, Stephen Finlay and David Ghiurcan all hitting one each to now make it three wins on the spin and maintain their impressive run of late.Junior action on Saturday saw the 12B’s play out a scoreless draw with Wolfe Tone in Bray, the lads had most of the possession in this game but just hadn’t got the luck in front of goal, combine this with an excellent performance from the Wolfe Tone keeper it shows just how much the lads were on top. The under 14A’s claimed an excellent three points when winning 2-0 away to Arklow Town, a fifth goal of the season from Ross Quinn and a second in successive games from Eoin Doyle helped the lads maintain their hundred percent start to the season. Our 14C’s suffered a heavy defeat against Arklow Town A, the lads never gave up in this game and battled right up to the final whistle. The under 15B’s lost 5-0 to a well drilled Newtown Juniors side, the lads gave it their all but just had no answer to a good Newtown team on the day.On Sunday our under 13 girls pulled off an excellent 4-3 victory away to Peamount Utd, the girls went in front through Molly Sweeney but the home side levelled before the break. The girls fell 2-1 behind against the run of play in the second half but this little team have great character and they battled back with goals from Molly Sweeney, Aoife Caffrey and Abi Farrell with the home side nicking their third in injury time. On the day everyone played their part, coming in for a special mention were Aoife Caffrey, Abi Farrell, Molly Sweeney and Lucy Rampersaud. Player of the match went to Julie Phelan who was a rock across the back three. The 12A’s played out a tough 0-0 draw away to Aughrim, either side could have won this game but generally both defences were on top through out. Our 13A’s made it three wins from three in the premier shield when they beat Newtown Juniors 5-1, a brace a piece from Callum Gibney and Jordan Younger and a single from Adam Kearns laid the foundations for an excellent win and three valuable points. The under 14B’s continued their unbeaten start with a good 4-2 win over Arklow Celtic, goals from Ben Free, Scott Bushe, Ethan Allen and Lee Hamilton claimed them all three points. Our 15A’s went down 5-2 to local rivals Wicklow Town, Paul Marah nabbed his third of the season with Joe O’Shea scoring his first goal of the campaign. The under 16A team went goal crazy away to Arklow Town winning 7-1, seven different players ended up on the score sheet, Dylan Frazer, Conor Byrne, Sean Leonard, Cian O’Brien, Jack Colaluca, Tristan O’Toole and Nathan Sullivan all hit singles.Our Last Man Standing competition at the time of writing saw 181 players left in the competition, 16 players went out on Everton, 3 exited on West Brom and one went out on Stoke. A massive 121 players went through to round three on Liverpool, others to go through were Man City [24],Tottenham [12], Crystal Palace [9], Man Utd [8] and Bournemouth [1]. At the time of going to print we were waiting on 3 players on Watford, 2 on West Ham and 1 on Burnley. We ask all remaining players to make sure your selection for round three is in by 7pm on Thursday.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 2nd OCTOBER 2016

The senior men suffered their first defeat of the season at the weekend when they went down 3-0 away to CYM Beechwood, the lads were missing a couple of regulars for this game but to be honest the lads never really got going in this game. They had a lot of possession but never threatened in the final third, it was a bad day at the office and they now need to regroup and go again next week.Our senior ladies were away to league leaders Dundrum, they got off to a flyer after five minutes when Niamh O’Brien gave them the lead but this was as good as it got with the home side firing in three unanswered goals. The girls did bring it back to 3-2 but the hosts added three more to run out 6-2 winners. It was a disappointing performance from the girls on the day, Valentine Lenoir, Chloe Brennan and Charmaine Higgins were Rovers best players on the day.Our under 17’s took on Belvedere in the first round of the Leinster Youths cup knowing they were coming up against one of the cup favourites. The lads lost 3-0 but put in a good performance and if the chances had been converted they might just have pulled off a shock, all in all it was a decent performance against one of the more established clubs in junior football. Saturday’s junior action saw the under 12A’s maintain their unbeaten start to the season with a comfortable 6-0 home win over Greystones Utd A at the Whitegates. Kai Fitzsimons and Louis Malcomson both now have four for the season when they nabbed two a piece, Oscar Malcomson and Jack Noble both scored their second of the campaign to complete the six goal haul in an excellent all round team performance. The 13B’s suffered a heavy 8-1 home defeat to Coolboy Rgrs, on a bad day at the office, Tim Hastie scored his third goal of the season. Our 14B’s secured an excellent point in a 1-1 away draw with one of their main rivals Coolboy Rgrs to remain unbeaten. In what was a tough encounter the lads put in a fantastic team display, Ben Free scored his fifth of the season to claim a well earned point which could be valuable come the business end of the campaign. The 14C’s came up against a strong Roundwood side suffering an 8-2 defeat, the lads with a bit more luck in front of goal could have got a lot closer on the scoreboard. On a positive note both Ben Lawless and Harrison Boxall scored their first goals of the season.Sundays junior action saw our under 13A’s maintain their one hundred percent start in the premier shield when they made it four wins from four with a 3-1 away victory over St Anthonys. A brace from last seasons top scorer Conor Hunter and a fourth of the season from Callum Gibney laid the foundations for this win in another impressive team display. The under 14A’s are another team who have a one hundred percent record, they also have won four out of four as they defeated Aughrim Rgrs in the under 15 division one shield at the weekend, two from Ross Quinn to make it six for the campaign and maintain his record of scoring in every game and a first of the season for Connor Lewins ensured all three points in a 3-1 win. Our 16B’s went goal crazy against Little Bray winning 8-0, Nacho Garcia, Javier Rodriguez and Armando Mourisco all nabbed two a piece with Nathan Wynne and Brandon Aronu scoring one each to seal a very impressive win.Our Last Man Standing competition saw a major cull at the weekend, just when it seemed all the fancy teams were helping their supporters through each week up pops a major shock. Stoke who couldn’t buy a decent result of late sprung a surprise holding Man Utd to a 1-1 draw, this result meant we lost 81 players. Other teams to let players down over the weekend were Everton [14], Watford [4], West Ham [2], West Brom [2], Leicester [2], Sunderland [1] and Burnley [1]. Safe passage through to round 4 were the 32 players who went with Arsenal and how lucky they were with a winner with the last kick of the game. Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Hull saw 28 players progress with Liverpool’s early impressive form continuing when they beat Swansea 2-1 to book 9 players their place in the next round, we lost a total of 107 players at the weekend which now leaves 69 people battling it out for the €500 prize. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to wish senior ladies player Rachel ‘The Goal Machine’ Bolger a speedy recovery from a serious injury that she picked up in a recent game against Cabinteely. We all look forward to her getting herself back to full fitness and back on the playing field soon, get well soon Rachel.Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.comFor all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 9th OCTOBER 2016

Our senior men’s team earned an excellent point away to unbeaten Clondalkin Celtic last Friday night, trailing 1-0 the lads battled back to earn a share of the spoils when they levelled matters through Luke Byrne with seven minutes remaining. The lads could even have won the game when the Dublin side’s keeper pulled off a fantastic save from Sean Tobin in the dying seconds. This can be seen as a point gained as hopefully in what seems to be a very tight league this point could prove to be very valuable at the business end of the season.Our under 17’s won 3-1 at home to fourth placed Drimnagh Celtic to earn three points which keeps them on the shirt tails of early pacesetters Castleknock Celtic and Palmerstown, no details of scorers at the time of going to print. The ladies senior team took on Shankill last Wednesday night and after a tight encounter the girls lost out 2-1. Shankill raced into a two goal lead by the midway point of the first half but the girls showed great character by battling back and reducing the arrears before the break when fine work between Niamh O'Brien and Valentine Lenoir set up Natasha Fitzgerald who fired home. The second half was a very even affair with both sides having chances, Niamh O'Brien and Natasha Fitzgerald went close for Rovers while Charmaine Higgins in the Rovers goal produced two excellent saves. On a night when the girls played well in patches Charmaine Higgins was the outstanding Rovers player making three fantastic saves, also standing out on the night were Maggie Maloney, Saoirse O'Reilly and Louise Johnson.On Saturday the under 12A’s produced an excellent performance in the second round of the SFAI cup when they defeated a very strong Kilcullen side 2-1 in their own backyard, Kai Fitzsimons fifth of the season set them on their way with Daniel Mabuza’s first of the season proving decisive in what was an excellent all round team performance. The 13A’s made it five wins from five in the premier shield when they defeated Arklow Town A 10-0 at the Whitegates. Callum Gibney kept his hot streak in front of goal going with a fabulous hat-trick, there was two a piece for Conor Hunter, Tiernan O’Brien and Tom Hodgkinson with Willoughby Woods adding a single. The 13B’s lost 4-2 away to Ashford Rovers, in a close encounter Rory Hannon and Oran Dempsey both hit their first goals of the season. Our 14B’s went down narrowly to Caragh Celtic on a score of 2-1 in the second round of the SFAI cup, the lads went in front but didn’t make their early dominance count as the Kildare side battled back with two unanswered goals to progress.Sunday’s action saw the under 13 girls play out an exciting encounter with Lakelands, unfortunately for the girls they lost 2-1 which was a cruel outcome as the girls were the better team for large periods of the game, Molly Sweeney fired home her fifth goal of the season and it was only a number of stunning saves from the away keeper that prevented the Rovers girls from claiming the three points. The 14A’s went out of the SFAI cup when they lost 2-1 away to Knockmitten Utd, with a few regulars down the lads gave a good account of themselves and could easily have got something from the game, Adam O’Reilly scored their goal. The 16A’s progressed to round four of the SFAI cup with a narrow 3-2 win over Greystones Utd, two goals from Nathan Sullivan and one from Sean Leonard sets them up for a home tie with the winners of Caragh Celtic and Athy Town. Our 16B’s recorded a fine 3-2 away win over Aughrim Rgrs, Javier Rodriguez notched two with Ryan Murphy adding a single which sees both players on five for the season in an all round good team performance from the lads.Two further membership registration nights have been scheduled for this coming Friday the 14th of October and then on Friday the 28th of October, these will be the seventh and eighth nights that have been held. They will take place in the clubhouse in the Whitegates from 7pm to 8pm, anyone with outstanding fees are encouraged to attend as there are no more registration nights planned. After these dates the club may be left with no option but to cease any member with outstanding fees from using club facilities, this applies to both junior and senior sections of the club.Our Last Man Standing competition resumes this coming weekend, as it stands we have 69 players left to battle it out for the title and the €500 prize, we would like to thank everyone who has supported our competition and also wish all remaining players the very best of luck. Remember your selection for round 4 should be sent to Jimmy Nolan at 087-9108706 before 7pm on Thursday night.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 16th OCTOBER 2016

The senior men recorded an excellent 5-2 home win over previously unbeaten Clondalkin Celtic on Friday night. In a very entertaining first half the big crowd witnessed six cracking goals and plenty of goalmouth action. The second period was as good but we were limited to just the one goal and thankfully that was for Rovers. Luke Byrne brought his tally to the season to six when he notched two goals, Maurice Dunne is now on three in the goalscoring charts after his double with Conor Tobin scoring his first of the campaign. This result sees the lads leapfrog their opponents and has them well placed on the shirt tails of early pace setters CYM Beechwood.The senior ladies completed their league programme when they had an excellent 4-2 win over Terenure at the Whitegates, this match was a highly entertaining affair with a lot of fantastic football produced by both sides. The girls went one up when Niamh O’Brien fired powerfully to the roof of the net from an acute angle. Disaster struck for the girls when the Dublin outfit fought back to go 2-1 up. This seemed to spur the girls on as they produced some quality football to battle back to win 4-2. The impressive Niamh O’Brien turned in a fine solo scoring performance smashing home all four of Rovers goals. On this performance the girls can look forward to next season with confidence that they can compete with any of the teams in their section, this was an excellent all round team performance from every single player and its refreshing to see players enjoy their football as the girls play with a smile on their faces, win, lose or draw. Well done to manager Mandy O’Neill who has instilled this attitude into the team added by a great work ethic from everyone involved.Our under 17’s were involved in a nine goal thriller when they played Castleknock Celtic at home, the lads fell one nil down within a minute of the start but they came racing back to go in at half time 4-1 up with a brace from Stuart Cox and one a piece from Patrick O’Keane and Stephen Finlay. Both sides were level on points in joint second place in the table going into the game and Rovers looked comfortable at the break. Celtic came racing back in the second period and fired in three unanswered goals to level matters. Just when it seemed the game was heading for a draw Rovers were awarded a penalty which Stuart Cox coolly dispatched to the net to claim three valuable points for the lads. Saturdays junior action saw the under 11 greens play their first competitive game as they have moved up to the under 12 grade, they defeated St Patricks 8-1 in a very impressive display, Charlie Czwalina led the way with a superb hat-trick, Brian McCaul scored two with Liam Burke, Jack Macklin and an own goal accounting for the other goals in a fine all round team performance. The 13A’s maintained their hundred percent start in the premier shield when they defeated Wolfe Tone 5-1 to make it six wins from six, Adam Kearns hit a brace with Jordan Younger, Conor Hunter and Sean O’Meara all firing home one each. Our 13B’s suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of St Anthonys losing 9-3 at the Whitegates, Tim Hastie scored twice with Zach Callery registering a single. The 14C’s went down 7-0 to a physically stronger Coolboy Rgrs side, the lads found the going tough against a very good side. If its goals you want the Whitegates was the place to be on Saturday afternoon, our 14A’s took on their club team mates the 15B’s in the under 15 division 1 shield. The 14’s ran out 8-4 winners to make it five wins from five, Ross Quinn made it to double figures in the scoring charts when he scored a fantastic four goals, Connor Lewins, Samuel Bishop, Eoin Doyle and Mark O’Brien all hit one each. Michael Ryan scored a fantastic hat-trick for the 15’s with Thomas O’Neill completing their scoring.On Sunday the 12A’s had a tight 2-1 victory over St Anthonys to keep their spot at the head of the field in the premier shield, Sam Greene scored their first with Ross McCrea blasting home the winner from the penalty spot. The 15A’s went down 6-2 away to Arklow Town under 16’s in the Challenge cup, Chris Mabuza and Eoin Doyle scored the goals. The 16A’s drew 4-4 with Roundwood, Shane Lincoln, Tristan O’Toole, Nathan Sullivan and Conor Byrne all nabbed a goal each.Our Last Man Standing competition moves into the fifth round next weekend. We are now left with 48 players left standing in pursuit of the €500 prize. This week saw 24 players progressing on Arsenal, 13 on Southampton, 6 on Chelsea, 3 on Stoke and 2 on Bournemouth. Making their exit from the competition were the 10 players who went with Tottenham, 7 players on Man City and the 4 players who picked Crystal Palace. Good luck to all remaining players and a big thanks to all players for supporting our competition. The club will be holding another club registration night on Friday 28th October from 7pm to 9pm in the clubhouse in the Whitegates.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 23rd OCTOBER 2016

The senior men's team entertained New Ross Town in the first round of the Leinster Junior cup last weekend and they made their exit after a 1-0 defeat. In a forgettable first half there was little to get the big crowd excited, the only action of note came in the 44th minute when New Ross were awarded a soft penalty which they duly converted to go in 1-0 up at the break. Rovers created the first good opening in the second period when Sean Tobin thundered a header off the woodw ork in the 53rd minute. In the 67th minute Luke Byrne carved open the away defence when he worked a good one two with Maurice Dunne but could only watch in agony as his low drive went narrowly wide. Rovers best player on the night Mark Johnson went close in the 75th minute when he ghosted past a couple of defenders but his shot was turned away by the keeper. In the last ten minutes it was all Rovers, they had a great chance with six minutes left when they were awarded a spot kick, which unfortunately for the lads was saved well by the keeper. Best on the night for Rovers were Dave Rowan who was solid at the back but man of the match goes to Mark Johnson who was fully committed in the challenge and led by example when driving his team mates on and was very unlucky near the end not to level matters.Our under 17’s lost 3-1 to league leaders Palmerstown, the lads got off to a bad start when they were caught cold after thirty seconds when the away side took the lead. Soon after the Dublin side were two up and by the twenty minute mark it was 3-0. Palmerstown were reduced to ten men when one of their players received a red card for a late challenge and then dissent. Early in the second half Rovers were reduced to ten men when they had a player dismissed for a late challenge with Palmerstown also seeing the red mist as one of their players went for an early bath for his part in the ensuing scuffle. Rovers pulled a goal back when Adam Cuddihy fired home an excellent free kick but they couldn’t breach the Palmerstown rearguard again.In junior action on Saturday the under 11 green team have took to competitive football like a duck to water, this week they recorded their second successive 8-1 win when they defeated Avonmore. Liam Burke hit a fantastic hat-trick, Brian McCaul notched a brace for the second week running with Joshua Bishop, Josh Butler and Charlie Czwalina all hitting singles. The 15B’s had a bad day at the office when they lost 6-1 to Aughrim Rgrs, Daniel Murphy struck for Rovers for his first goal of the season.On Sunday the under 12B’s were unlucky to lose 1-0 to Arklow Utd, the lads completely dominated the game but were hit on the break. On the day Cormac Wadron came in for a special mention as he was impressive in both attack and defence through out the game. Our under 13 girls recorded an excellent 2-1 away win over Malahide in the first round of the cup, this was a very impressive result for the girls in what was an excellent all round team display from them, Aimee Smith and Molly Sweeney hit the all important goals. The 13A’s continued their impressive run when they made it seven wins from seven when they beat Aughrim Rgrs 5-1, Tom Hodgkinson fired in two with Conor Hunter, Sean O’Meara and Brioc Doyle scoring one each. The 13B’s recorded a good 2-1 away win over Glencormac with goals from Ruadhrai Kelly and Oran Dempsey. Our 14A’s are another team with a one hundred percent record and they preserved that run with a 4-0 away win over Newtown, Connor Lewins and Ross Quinn both hit the back of the net twice to make it six wins from six. The 14B’s came into direct contact with their club mates from the ‘C’ team and they ran out easy winners, the B’s scorers on the day were Scott Bushe [4], Reece Doyle [3], Lee Hamilton [2] and Arron Lynch [1] with Donal O’Donaghue replying for the C’s. Our Last Man Standing competition is now down to 29 players, 19 players went out at the weekend, Everton [6], Arsenal [5], Tottenham [5] and Man City [3] were the causalities with West Ham [14], Liverpool [11], Leicester [2] and Stoke [2] providing safe passage for the 29 players that remain standing. Once again we would like to thank everyone who has supported our competition, your continuous support is very much appreciated. Good luck to all remaining players.Our last night for registering as a club member will take place in the clubhouse in the Whitegates this coming Friday the 28th of October from 7pm to 9pm, this is the eighth and final night to register, after this the club will have to look at ceasing club activities for non members. The club will have held eight nights for people to register plus setting up an online payment method to make it easier for all members both senior and junior.Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Miriam O'Brien who sadly passed away recently, the O'Brien family are big supporters of our club with Miriam's son Colin managing in our schoolboy's section over recent years, our thoughts and prayers are with Miriam's husband Hugh, daughters Derval and Grainne, sons Colin, Alan and Ian, all her grandchildren, her extended family and friends at this sad time. May she rest in peace.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 30th OCTOBER 2016

The senior men earned an excellent point away to unbeaten CIE Ranch drawing 1-1, the lads fell behind to the Ranch but battled back to earn a share of the spoils when top scorer Luke Byrne blasted home his seventh goal of the season from the penalty spot. In truth it was a well deserved point and before the lads did level matters they did have several chances, so things could have been better.The under 17’s consolidated their second place position in the table with a good 4-2 away win over Leicester Celtic. Jack Manley hit the net twice for his first goals of the season with both Patrick O’Keane and Luca Rampersaud reaching four for the season when they both scored one a piece.Saturday junior action saw our 12A’s record an excellent 3-1 away win over Emo Celtic in Laois in the third round of the SFAI cup, this was the lads third successive away tie in the competition and this win sets them up for yet another away tie when they will take on the winners of Naas A and Clane Utd in the fourth round. Kai Fitzsimons, Jack Noble and a first of the season from Nicholas McAllister were the lads goalscorers in what was an excellent all round team performance. The 12B’s also had a good win when they defeated Carnew away, two goals from Ryan McConnell and one each from Mikey Nolan, Matthew Porter and Charlie Phelan earned them a well deserved three points in a 5-1 win. Our 14A’s who are competing in the under 15 division 1 shield are going from strength to strength, they maintained their one hundred percent record in the shield winning seven from seven when they defeated Wolfe Tone 4-1 in Bray. Ross Quinn made it fifteen for the season when he notched a brace, Eoin Doyle fired home his fourth with Harry Hodgkinson smashing in his first of the campaign in a good solid performance from the lads. The 14C’s found the going tough when they went down 7-0 at home to Greystones Utd, in truth the lads never gave up and kept trying to play football, their efforts definitely deserved something on the scoreboard. The 15B’s lost out in an exciting 3-2 defeat to Arklow Town A, this is a game in which the lads will feel they could have got something from. Both Nathan Sullivan and Sean Leonard scored their first goals of the season for the team. Our 16A’s were disappointed to lose out 1-0 to Athy Town at the Whitegates in the third round of the SFAI cup, with the only chance of note in the first period Athy scored what proved to be the decisive goal. Rovers controlled the game for large periods but just couldn’t break down a resolute Athy defence. The 16B’s were involved in a ten goal thriller losing out 6-4 away to Little Bray, Nathan Wynne, Nacho Garcia, Ryan Murphy and Paul Marah all registered singles in a great advertisment for football, well done to both sides.Sunday’s action saw the under 11 green’s maintain their impressive start to competitive football with a 3-0 home win over Wolfe Tone. Top scorer Charlie Czwalina hit a brace with Michael Brennan scoring his first of the season to make it three wins from three. A very much under strength 15A’s went down narrowly to Naas in the third round of the SFAI cup, the lads went down 1-0 in a game where they had their chances, it was a tight tussle that could have went either way. Well yet again the Red Devils of Manchester let a lot of players down in our Last Man Standing competition, their 0-0 draw at home to Burnley meant 17 players exited the competition meaning that a total of 102 players have now gone out of the competition since it started by putting their faith with United. One player also went out over the weekend when Tottenham drew 1-1 with Leicester. At the time of going to print 7 players were through to round 7, Watford’s win over Hull saw 4 players through, 1 player each were on Man City, Everton and Chelsea as they saw off West Brom, West Ham and Southampton respectively. Four more players at the time of going to print were hoping Stoke could beat Swansea in the Monday night live match on Sky to join the other 7 players in round seven.Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathies to the families and friends of Emily Costello late of Fernhill, Arklow and Edward Hanlon late of Rathdrum who sadly passed away recently. Emily’s grandson Wayne Costello plays with our 16B’s while Edward’s grandson Ryan [Jerry] Delamere plays on our 14A team. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this sad time, may they rest in peace.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 6th NOVEMBER 2016

The under 17’s were the only senior team in action over the weekend and they recorded a 4-2 win over Cabinteely, a brace a piece from Stuart Cox and Luca Rampersaud saw the lads claim three valuable points in what was a very entertaining game in tough conditions.Saturday’s action saw the under 12A’s record a good 1-0 away win over Rathnew to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, Kai Fitzsimon’s seventh goal of the season was enough to claim all three points to put them in a strong position to make the premier shield final. The 12B’s were very unlucky to lose 1-0 to Coolboy Rgrs in the Rocky Road, the lads had several chances to get something from the game and even had a goal in injury time disallowed for offside. In a good team display Ian Kavanagh was nominated man of the match for a very impressive display. The 11A’s competing in group 4 of the premier shield made it four wins from four when they earned a tough three points away to neighbours Rathnew in a 2-1 win. The lads have adapted well to the higher age group and it was goals from Charlie Czwalina and Liam Burke that keeps their one hundred percent start to competitive football intact. The 14B’s had a good win away to Arklow Town A winning 3-2, goals from Reece Doyle, Scott Bushe and Lee Hamilton earned them all three points to keep them well in the mix for a place in the shield final with a couple of points separating the top four teams. The 16A’s are another team in a strong position to make their shield final, their 8-4 win over one of their nearest rivals puts them in pole position, both Sean Leonard and Jack Colaluca hit excellent hat-tricks with Luke Whyte and Shane Cullinan firing home one each to complete their eight goal haul.Sunday’ action saw the under 13A’s power their way into the premier shield final when they defeated their nearest rivals St Anthonys 5-0 at the Whitegates, two goals from Jordan Younger and one a piece from Tomas Kennedy, Callum Gibney and David Butler helped the team to maintain their one hundred percent record and book their place in the final. The under 14A’s who qualified last week for their shield final preserved their one hundred percent record when they won 4-0 at home to Wolfe Tone, Eoin Doyle helped himself to two goals and Connor Lewins and Adam O’Reilly fired in one each in what was a solid professional performance from the lads. Our under 15A’s went down 5-0 to a strong Wicklow Town side, the lads never really got going in this game and much that they tried they couldn’t make any inroads on a strong Town defence. The 16B’s were another team to qualify for their respective shield final when they defeated St Anthonys 7-1 to power to the final of the division 1 shield, Nathan Wynne and Javier Rodriguez both scored a brace with Nathan Sullivan, Armando Mourisco and Nacho Garcia all registering singles.

The club’s weekly junior soccer academy takes place every Saturday [weather permitting] under the watchful eye of senior club coach Johnny Dunne. The academy takes places on the all weather pitch on the club grounds at the Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of 3 years to 8 years. The academy starts at 11 o’clock and finishes at 12. There is no need for registration so you can come along to any week that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.

Our Last Man Standing competition recorded a few shocks over the weekend, shock number one was Man City’s 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough which resulted in 2 players making their exit from the competition. Shock number 2 was Sunderland’s first win of the season away to Bournemouth which saw a further 2 players go out of the competition. The next shock was inform Southampton’s 2-1 defeat away to Hull who had lost their last six games which meant 1 more player was gone. This was followed by another major shock when champions Leicester lost to West Brom which saw 4 players go out. What this means is we are now left with an intriguing head to head battle between Hughie Nolan [Man Utd beat Swansea] and James Nolan [Chelsea beat Everton], uncle versus nephew. Its amazing after 213 players and 7 rounds of selections it comes down to this face off, good luck to both players and once again a massive thanks to all players for supporting our competition. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Patrick [Pat] Kavanagh senior of St Laurence’s Road who sadly passed away recently, our thoughts and prayers are with Pat [Sting], Billy, James, Terry, Brendan, Nicky, Johnny and his extended family at this sad time, may he rest in peace.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 13th NOVEMBER 2016

On the senior front last week it was the under 17’s who were the only ones to taste a bit of action, they travelled to take on Templeogue Utd and came home with all three points in a fine 4-1 victory. The lads win keeps them in the mix for the runners up berth in the league in their first season in the DDSL. Stuart Cox moved to double figures when he netted a hat-trick with Luca Rampersaud claiming the fourth goal in a good all round team performance.Saturdays junior action saw our under 11 green team go goal crazy again in the under 12 group 4 shield, this time Enniskerry were on the receiving end as the lads hit ten without reply. Charlie Czwalina led the scoring charts as he hit an excellent four goals, Liam Burke nabbed two goals with Brian McCaul, Joshua Bishop, Tom Donoghue and Oisin Denver all hitting singles as the lads made it five wins from five games. Our 12B’s got back to winning ways when they beat Carnew 4-1, Ryan McConnell fired home two goals, Cormac Waldron scored a stunner for his first of the season with Charlie Phelan completing the scoring with one goal. This was an excellent all round team performance from the lads but Kacper Lepek came in for a special mention for his flawless performance between the posts for Rovers. The under 13A’s turned in a total professional performance in their away game with Newtown Juniors winning 6-1, given that they have already booked their place in the premier shield final they might have been forgiven if they took their foot off the gas but they didn’t, Sean O’Meara, Callum Gibney and Willoughby Woods all hit the back of the net on two occasions to make it maximum points from nine games.On Sunday our 12A’s qualified for the premier shield final when they beat closest rivals Aughrim Rgrs 1-0, Daniel Mabuza scored the all important goal to ensure their path to the final. Spare a thought for young Sam Christie who scored what would have been a contender for goal of the season when he lobbed the keeper only for the referee to wrongly and harshly rule it out as he deemed it went through the side netting. Our under 13 girls maintained their excellent debut in the Metropolitan Girls League as they made it three wins from four in the league when they beat Peamount Utd 5-2 at the Whitegates. The girls raced into a 5-0 lead with a fantastic clinical hat-trick from top scorer Molly Sweeney, not far behind Molly was Aoife Caffrey who netted twice. Peamount did battle back to score twice in the second half but the girls saw out the game to claim all three points. In an excellent team display Rihanna O’Neill, Julie Phelan and Sorcha Cull were rock solid in the Rovers defence. The 14A’s kept their hundred percent record intact with a hard earned 1-0 win over Arklow Town, Eoin Doyle scored his seventh of the season with what proved to be the all important goal for the lads to preserve their unbeaten run in the under 15 division 1 shield. The 14B’s drew with table toppers Greystones Utd, when these two sides met earlier in the season in the Whitegates they provided us with a thrilling 3-3 draw. Sunday’s game was more of the same at the Woodlands with both sides serving up another six goal thriller in another 3-3 draw. Scott Bushe, David Lally and Ethan Allen hit the Rovers goals in what is proving to be a very tight finish at the top of the table with any two from four capable of making the shield final. The lads are two points behind leaders Greystones but have two games in hand. Our 15B’s recorded their first point of the season when they held Newtown Juniors to a 2-2 draw, the lads put in a battling performance and after losing 5-0 earlier in the season at home to the same opposition it just shows how good a result this was for the lads. Thomas O’Neill netted his fifth of the season with Logan O’Toole scoring his first of the campaign. Our Last Man Standing competition is into round 8 and we are left with two players left to battle it out and what an intriguing battle it should be, after 213 players and seven rounds of predictions we have been left with an uncle versus nephew head to head tussle. Hughie Nolan from Newtown takes on his nephew James Nolan from Wicklow in what will prove to be a nervous battle for the bragging rights of been the king of predictions and the honour of been the last man standing.The clubs annual awards night will take place this coming Saturday night the 19th of November upstairs in The Forge, it is hoped to start the presentation at 9pm sharp so we would ask all members and past members to arrive early.

Anyone with information for the club notes or the club website can contact me at 0879108706 or e-mail me at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.com

For all news regarding the club, check out the club website at www.wicklowrovers.com or the club facebook page.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 20th NOVEMBER 2016

The clubs annual senior awards took place upstairs in The Forge last night. We started with the ‘’Junior Person of the Year’’ which went to Dylan Frazer for all his help with the coaching at the Saturday morning academy, the under 8 green and 12B teams. Next up was the ‘’Club Merit Award’’ which went to Brendan Porter, Brendan has managed and coached his own teams as well as helping with other teams over the years. He is always on hand to help out with the unseen work in the club, the likes of transporting goalposts from around our grounds, setting up PA systems for field days, helping with the St Patrick’s Day floats over the years and much more. Our ‘’Hall of Fame’’ recipient went to the last of our founder members to be inducted into our Hall of Fame. Anthony sleeps, drinks and eats Wicklow Rovers, no matter when you pass our club grounds you’ll see him there. Whether it’s pottering around helping around the grounds, supporting our junior teams or helping out the senior men’s teams. Anthony is Mr Wicklow Rovers. Next up was our under 17 player of the year and this was presented to Luca Rampersaud by Eoghan O’Neill, Luca was very impressive through out the season and consistently hit the back of the net. Then it was the turn of the senior ladies, as their season ran past last years awards they had a double presentation, the first awards presented were the ‘’Players’’ player of the year for 2015 and 2016, Rachel ‘The Goal Machine’ Bolger picked up the 2015 award which was presented by one of our ladies sponsors Mellisa Carroll. The 2016 award went to Charmaine Higgins which was presented by Anne O’Neill. Both girls turned in some very impressive performances at opposite ends of the pitch, Rachel hit an excellent total of 30 goals in the 2015 season while Charmaine turned on some fantastic displays between the posts in 2016 which earned her praise from opponents and referees through out the season. On to the managers players of the year, the 2015 award went to Rachel to scoop her second award of the night, just goes to show what an impressive season she had. The 2016 managers player of the year went to Saoirse O’Reilly who was a rock at the centre of the defence churning out consistently brilliant displays and leading her team by example. Franny Copeland made a presentation to child liaison officer Maria Lewins for all her hard work in her non executive role over the last few years, Maria has worked tirelessly behind the scenes getting that end of the club in order. The next presentation was made by Paul Delaney when he made a presentation Mandy O’Neill to acknowledge Mandy for all the hard work she has done in the formation of our senior ladies section, there is no doubt without Mandy’s organising skills this would never have got off the ground. The last presentation of the night was made to Mandy by all the senior ladies team to show their appreciation for all the hard work she has put in to provide the girls with football. A big thanks goes to Mandy O’Neill, Rihanna O’Neill, Anne O’Neill, Charmaine Higgins, Louise Johson, Rachel Bolger and Katie O’Connor for all their hard work in decorating the room. Once again a massive thanks to club president Anthony Earls, Child liaison officer Maria Lewins and WDSL small sided fixtures secretary Robbie Dover for all your help over the year. Thanks to all our managers, coaches, players senior and junior, parents and supporters for continuous support and help through out the year. Finally a big thanks to my fellow committee members John Frazer, Paul Delaney Franny Copeland, Rob Free, Johnny Dunne, Mandy O’Neill and Jason Harris for all their hard work over the last year.The senior team recorded a good 3-1 win over Ratoath Harps last Friday night, the lads struggle somewhat in the first half and found themselves 1-0 down at the break. They came out in the second period more determined and took the game to their opponents, they had a great chance to draw level from the penalty spot but the keeper saved well. Mark Johnson drew the lads level when he thundered home the equaliser from the edge of the area and then showed his neat footwork when he showed the watching public his chicken dance in his goal celebration, Strictly Come Dancing each your heart out. Soon after they hit the front when Conor Tobin fired them into the lead. Maurice Dunne wrapped up the points when he was sprung from the bench and he finished off the Ratoath challenge when he volleyed into the roof of the net to seal all three points.The weekends junior action saw our under 11A’s go goal crazy when beating Avonmore, Charlie Czwalina hit four, Jack Macklin nabbed a hat-trick, Joshua Bishop and Dan Kavanagh both notched a brace with Josh Butler, Lee Brown, Brian McCaul and an own goal accounting for the remainder. Our 12A’s never played up to their usual standard when they went down 5-0 away to a strong Naas side in the fourth round of the SFAI cup, the lads huffed and puffed but just couldn’t get going into their normal rhythm. The 12B’s went down narrowly 2- 1 away to Arklow Utd, in a highly entertaining game it was Ryan McConnell who netted for Rovers, both sides in this game were a credit to their clubs and managers, well done all. The 13B’s were unlucky in defeat away to Coolboy Rangers losing 4-2, Tim Hastie scored both their goals but they did have the chances to get something from the game. The 14B’s kept their pursuit of a place in the premier shield final on course with a solid 3-1 home win over Arklow Town, David Lally, Reece Doyle and Mark Evans were all on the score sheet as the lads close in on a top two spot. Our 14C’s found the going tough against Arklow Celtic losing 9-2, their consolation goals came from Donal O’Donoghue and Oskar Mozdzierski. The 15A’s had a good win defeating Greystones Utd 2-0 at The Woodlands in the combined under 15/16 challenge cup, Craig Anderson set them on their way with Tom O’Shea putting the icing on the cake. The 15B’s went down to a 4-2 home defeat to Wolfe Tone, Nathan Sullivan and Ruadhan Doyle were the Rovers scorers. The 16A’s have all but booked their place in the premier shield final after their fine 3-0 away win over Ashford Rovers, Jack Colaluca fired home two with Sean Leonard notching the other.The clubs Last Man Standing competition came to an end at the weekend with both remaining players Hughie Nolan [uncle] and James Nolan [nephew] sharing the prize fund after their selection Everton failed to win after their 1-1 draw with Swansea. What it means is they both get €250 each and share the title of Last Men Standing, congratulations to you both. The club would like to thank everyone who participated in our competition, your support was very much appreciated. It is planned to start our second Last Man Standing competition after Christmas, sometime around the start of February. Anyone interested in taking part can contact the person who entered you in our previous competitions, alternatively you can contact any club member, committee member or message us on our club facebook page. Once again thanks to everyone for their continuous support.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 27th NOVEMBER 2016

The senior men’s team made their exit from the Polikoff cup at the weekend when they went down narrowly losing 2-1 away to Liffey Valley Rangers. The lads will be thinking they left this one behind them after creating many chances but didn’t take them. The lads went one up when Daryl Sullivan gave them the lead but then the lads hit the self destruct button giving away two soft goals while also failing to be clinical in front of goal when their chances came along. It’s back to league duty next week and they will be hoping to keep up their title challenge when they travel to take on one of their main rivals Mullingar Athletic.Our under 17’s put Castleknock Celtic to the sword when they recorded an excellent 6-0 away win, Luca Rampersaud capped an excellent individual scoring display with a fantastic four goal haul to bring his tally for the season to eleven. Stephen Finlay notched his fourth of the campaign with Jack Manley’s third goal of the season accounting for their total. Saturdays junior action saw the under 11A’s book their place in the under 12 group 4 shield final, they did it with a narrow 2-1 win over St Patricks, Charlie Czwalina and Liam Burke fired in the goals which booked their spot and sees them maintain their one hundred percent record. Our 12A’s with their spot in their shield final already assured recorded a solid 2-0 away win over Greystones Utd, the lads went about their business in a professional manner to maintain their unbeaten run. Sam Greene and Louis Malcomson netted their goals on the day in what was a good all round team performance from the lads. The 12B’s were very unlucky to lose 3-2 in a five goal thriller away to Roundwood, the lads had the chances to get a leveller but it just wasn’t to be on the day. Mikey Nolan scored two fine solo efforts for the lads. Our 14B’s put themselves in a strong position to make the premier shield final when they won 3-0 away to Arklow Celtic, a ninth of the season for David Lally set them on their way, Scott Bushe nabbed his eighth of the campaign with Lee Hamilton completing the scoring. This result now means if they beat Coolboy at home next weekend they will book their place in the final. The 14C’s lost 10-1 away to Arklow Town A with Adam Shepherd scoring their goal. This group of young men have to be admired, week after week they turn out in all weathers playing against ‘A’ teams in the premier grade and even though they suffer heavy defeats they still turn out hail, rain or snow. Their commitment to enjoying their sport is second to none and they are an example to all other sports people, we all know the easiest thing to do is turn out when things are going your way and the hardest is when everything is going against you but not with these young men. A lot of credit for this goes to manager Fred Boxall who has been with this little side for a few years now, their commitment to the team is definitely down to Fred, well done Fred and the lads. The 15B’s went down 3-0 away to Wolfe Tone, the lads are finding the going tough this season but in truth they lost a lot of players to the A team this season and they are in the middle of rebuilding so hopefully after Christmas they will start to gel. The 16A’s all but booked their place in their shield final with a comfortable 4-1 home win over Ashford Rovers, Dylan Frazer, Paul Marah, Conor Byrne and Luke Whyte all hit singles which now barring a complete meltdown more or less sees the lads in the final. Sunday’s junior action saw our under 13A’s go goal crazy away to Arklow Town, Sean O’Meara smashed in an excellent hat-trick, Jordan Younger nabbed a brace with Mark Hodgkinson, Tom Hodgkinson, Tiernan O’Brien, Willoughby Woods and an own goal accounting for the remainder of the ten goal haul in a very comfortable10-0 win. The 15A’s went down 5-0 to a strong Coolboy side but the score didn’t do justice to the lads as they gave as good as they got with the only difference between the sides was Coolboy were more clinical in front of goal.There are two slots available to rent on our all weather pitch, the two slots available are Monday and Tuesday nights from 9pm to 10pm. Anyone seeking to rent either of these slots should contact Johnny Dunne at 087-7802098.Our Saturday morning academy continues every Saturday morning from 11 till 12 weather permitting, it takes place in the Whitegates under the watchful eye of head coach Johnny Dunne so if you want to learn the skills of football while enjoying playing games why not come along any Saturday morning. This is a platform for all kids from 3 years old to 8 years in their progression to organised league football, everyone welcome.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 4th DECEMBER 2016

The senior men's team suffered a 2-1 defeat away to one of their main title rivals Mullingar Athletic on Friday night. The lads went in front when Conor Tobin fired home his third goal of the season. They were then reduced to nine men but to the lads credit they dug in and battled. Just when it looked like they might hold out they got caught late on in the game when Mullingar hit two late goals. This is a set back for the lads but with the league so tight at the top half everything is still to play for with a handful of points seperating several teams.Saturday's junior action saw our under 12A's game against Rathnew come to a premature end when the referee called the game off after a discussion with one of our opponents officials with the game tied at 1-1, with the lads already assured of their place in the final the result of the game would have no bearing on the lads place in the final, Louis Malcomson hit the Rovers goal. The 13B's earned a good point when they drew 1-1 with Ashford Rovers, in a closely fought encounter Oran Dempsey fired home the Wicklow goal. The 14C's came up against a very strong Roundwood side with the lads losing out 10-0, this result put Roundwood in the final but to the lads credit they kept going right to the end. Our 16A's suffered their first defeat in local competition when they went down 3-2 away to Greystones United, leading scorer Sean Leonard scored one with under 15B player Nathan Sullivan scoring the second.Sunday’s action saw our 11A’s maintain their one hundred percent record in group 4 of the premier shield when they recorded an excellent 3-0 away win over Wolfe Tone. Leading scorer Charlie Czwalina hit his seventeenth goal of the season with Liam Burke and Brian McCaul adding one each to make it eight wins from eight. The 12B’s got off to a flyer in the league when they had a great 5-1 away win over Enniskerry, Peter Dunne made a dramatic comeback after missing the last eight weeks through illness, Peter smashed home two goals and then provided two assists for his strike partner Charlie Phelan with the fifth goal coming in the shape of an own goal, welcome back Peter, its great to see you back on the playing field. Our 13A’s were another team who got their league campaign off to a flyer when they beat Newtown Juniors 6-0 at the Whitegates. Sean O’Meara hit an excellent hat-trick for the second week running to bring his tally to ten for the season, leading scorer Callum Gibney scored one to make it eleven for the campaign with Jordan Younger [8] and Mark Hodgkinson [3] also scoring one a piece to complete their six goal haul in an excellent team performance. Our 14A’s maintained their one hundred percent record in the under 15 division 1 shield when they defeated Aughrim Rgrs 2-1 at Allen Park, Eoin Doyle claimed his eighth of the season with Mark O’Brien notching the all important second goal to claim all three points. The 14B’s threw away a 3-1 lead against Coolboy to draw 3-3 which means they have to wait to next week to see if they can seal a place in the premier shield final, Lee Hamilton, Evan Dwyer and Mark Evans all scored one each in a game the lads should have won. The 16B’s were involved in a nine goal thriller losing 5-4 to Arklow Town in the challenge cup, this is a game the lads could have got something from as they missed a penalty and struck the woodwork twice, Nathan Wynne, Armando Mourisco, Javier Rodriguez and Nacho Garcia all scored one a piece.The club shop was opened at the weekend, the shop will be opened on match days when ever possible for people looking to buy tea, coffee, minerals, crisps, bars, etc. We would like to thank Anthony Earls who oversaw this project, a big thanks goes to Mandy, Rachel, Hannah and Katie who looked after the shop at the weekend. Members have to remember though that there’s a lot of teams in the club and it definitely won’t be possible for the same group of people to be stuck with looking after the shop for every game that takes place in the Whitegates, please remember this when you hear someone moan about the shop not being open. Anyone interested in helping out with the shop when your team is playing or at any other time please feel free to contact any committee member. Everyone at Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to extend their sincere sympathies to Wicklow Town AFC chairman Willie Clarke and club treasurer Catherine Clarke on the sad passing of their daughter Petula. Our thoughts and prayers are with Willie, Catherine, her daughter Jennifer, partner Philip, brothers, sisters, grandson, her extended family and friends at this sad time, may she rest in peace.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 11th DECEMBER 2016

The senior men went down to a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Manortown United on Friday night. In a game which the lads never really got a foothold in it was the away side that drew first blood midway through the first half to go 1-0 up, they doubled their lead five minutes before the break but the lads gave themselves a lifeline when Luke Byrne halved the deficit two minutes later. The second half followed the trend of the first half with both sides huffing and puffing with neither keeper having to make a save of any note. The away side did however add a third goal from their only clear cut chance of note to ensure all three points were safely tucked away. The lads didn't really reach the standards they have set of late and will be hoping to put in right next time out.Saturday's junior action saw our under 11A's and 12A' come into direct confrontation in their first premier league game. With both sides already assured of their spots in their respective shield finals an exciting encounter was on the cards and they didn't disappoint. In what was an exciting encounter with some excellent football played by both sides the A's ran out 2-0 winners with goals from Louis Malcomson and Sam Christie. The game was played in a sporting manner with some fantastic talent on show. Both sides were a credit to their managers, coaches and to the club, well done to everyone involved. The 14B's will have to playoff with Greystones to earn a place in their premier shield final, this is the result of their thrilling 3-3 draw away to Roundwood, David Lally hit a brace with Lee Hamilton scoring one. They now must playoff with the Woodlands based team and what an exciting encounter that should be, they have played each other twice this season with both games ending in thrilling 3-3 draws. The 15A’s played out a scoreless draw with Roundwood at the Whitegates, this was a tight game with defences on top through out. Our 15B’s came up against a tough Wolfe Tone side in their first premier 1 league game losing 4-1 at the Vevay Sportsfield, the lads gave a one hundred percent effort but on the day the home team were just too strong. Nathan Sullivan scored the Rovers goal for his third of the season for the team. The 16B’s travelled to take on Aughrim Rangers and after going 2-0 down they battled back with three goals in the last fifteen minutes to record an excellent 3-2 victory, two goals from Javier Rodriguez and one from Nacho Garcia completed an excellent comeback when they looked dead and buried.The club's tuck shop will be open whenever possible at games. Because at the moment there is only a handful of volunteers to run the shop at matches and it would be unreasonable to expect the same people to run the shop for every game especially as these people have other duties within the club. So if you want to ensure the shop is open for your game why not ask a couple of parents to volunteer to help out on match day. Once again a big thanks to Mandy, Rachel, Anne, Hannah, Rihanna and Anthony for their help in the shop last weekend.The club’s annual Christmas draw takes place in Ernies this coming Saturday the 17th of December at 9pm, it is requested that any members who have outstanding tickets for the draw should return them to any committee member asap, thank you.The club will be running our second Last Man Standing competition of the season starting on the 4 th of February 2017. Anyone interested in taking part in our second competition should text their name and contact details to Jimmy Nolan at 087-9108706, also you can register through the same channels as you did in any of our previous Last Man Standing competitions. The prize fund will be €500 with the same rules applying. Alternatively if anyone wants to register you can contact any committee member with all your details. The registration fee for the competition is €10 and must be paid prior to the start of the competition. Also it’s advised to have your registration in on or before Friday the 27th of January.The executive committee of Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to wish the managers, assistant managers, coaches, players, parents and supporters of the club a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. We would also like to wish a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all the clubs, WDSL committee, WDFL committee, LSL committee, MGL committee, DWSL committee, referees, Paul Dowling, Dave Devereux, Brendan Lawrence and all the staff of the Wicklow People.

WICKLOW ROVERS AFC CLUB NOTES WEEK ENDING 18th DECEMBER’ 16

We had a restricted programme of action on the playing field at the weekend. On Saturday the under 14A’s came up against their club mates the 15A’s in both teams first league match. The 15’s came out on top winning 3-1, the game saw both Ryan Mattlas and Dylan Doyle score their first goals of the season for the 15A’s with Rory O’Brien hitting his third of the season. Harry Hodgkinson nabbed his second goal of the campaign for the 14A’s as they adjust to life in the premier grade of under 15’s. If its goals you wanted well then the Whitegates was the place to be on Saturday afternoon, the under 16B’s entertained St Anthonys and what a show both sides put on. In what was a very exciting encounter St Anthonys ran out 7-5 winners, Nathan Wynne and Ryan Murphy both fired home two a piece to move both players onto eight in the scoring charts this season. The game also marked a first goal of the season from Daragh Gibney. The game was a great advert for football with loads of goals, plenty of chances and some good football. Only one game took place on Sunday and that was the 15B’s match at home to Enniskerry, which saw the visitors win 5-3. Michael Ryan and Nathan Sullivan scored one a piece to move on to four each in the scoring charts with Aidan Hennessey notching his first of the season.The clubs annual Christmas draw took place in Ernies on Saturday night, the full list of winners were as follows: 1st Prize [€300 Hamper] Daisy Donoghue c/o Ian Donoghue; 2nd Prize [€200 Hamper] Delon English c/o Liam Burke; 3rd Prize [4 Ball for Mount Juilet Golf Club] Lucy Sammon; 4th Prize [Dinner for 2 at Druids Glen Resort] Colin Shepherd; 5th Prize [€130 Car Service at Declan Bradys Garage] Yan, 78 Grahams Court; 6th Prize [€100 One for All Voucher] Jade O’Brien; 7th Prize [10 x Fitness Classes at Match Fit Fitness] Owen McArdle; 8th Prize [€50 Club Gear Voucher] Adam Kearns; 9th Prize [Afternoon Tea for 2 at Tinakilly House] Gerry Doyle; 10th Prize [Afternoon Tea for 2 at Hunters Hotel] Aaron Dalton; 11th Prize [Christmas Hamper from Daybreak, Wicklow] Betty Yeates; 12th Prize [Women’s chain from JJ Jewellers] Muriel Koyle; 13th Prize [€300 Gift Voucher for the Spine Centre] Emma Roche; 14th Prize [Cordless Drill from Chadwicks] Willie O’Brien; 15th Prize [€50 Gift Voucher for Burke Oil] Marion Kenny; 16th Prize [€25 Gift Voucher for the Nail Room in Wicklow Town] Clodagh Jennings; 17th Prize [Basic First Aid Course Gift Voucher from Stac First Aid] Leo Kirwan; 18th Prize [Basic First Aid Gift Voucher from Stac First Aid] Fidelma Dunne; 19th Prize [Basic First Aid Gift Voucher from Stac First Aid] Brendan Farrell; 20th Prize [Iron Log Holder from Iron Focus Wicklow] Muriel & Kevin c/o Fitz’s; 21st Prize [Bottle of Jonny Walker Whiskey] Paul O’Brien; 22nd Prize [Large Bottle of Smirnoff Vodka] Catriona Nolan; 23rd Prize [Wine Hamper] Andrew Nolan Jnr; 24th Prize [Large Bottle of Smirnoff Vodka] Jamie Duffy; 25th Prize [Set of 6 Newbridge Wine Glasses] Milo Gleeson; 26th Prize [Large Bottle of Gordons Gin] Des Hemp; 27th Prize [Newbridge Cutlery Set] Rob Patterson; 28th Prize [Large Bottle of Gordons Gin] Abbie Kearns; 29th Prize [3 Bottles of Wine with Cork Screw and Stand] Barry Costello; 30th Prize [Large Bottle of Jameson Whiskey] P. Warrington; 31st Prize [Large Bottle of Jameson Whiskey] James O’Neill; 32nd Prize [Hand Held Steam Cleaner] Laurence O’Halloran; 33rd Prize [Box of Chocolates and Ladies Shower Set] Conor Luddy: A big thanks goes out to everyone who supported our raffle, your continuous support is very much appreciated. Well done to all the winners. Well done to the managers and parents of our under 14 teams who oversaw the running of this years draw, as you can see they did an excellent job with the largest amount of prizes ever in the draw. Also a big thanks to everyone who sponsored the prizes, your support of our club is much appreciated. The executive committee of Wicklow Rovers AFC would like to wish the managers, assistant managers, coaches, players, parents and supporters of the club a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. We would also like to wish a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all the clubs, WDSL committee, WDFL committee, LSL committee, MGL committee, DWSL committee, referees, Paul Dowling of the Herald, Dave Devereux, Brendan Lawrence and all the staff of the Wicklow People.